


Dissolved

by BleedingCoffee



Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: Anger, Angst, Different Beginning, Episode: s01e02 Many Happy Returns, Episode: s01e03 Before I Forget, Episode: s01e04 Alientated, Episode: s01e07 Blink, Episode: s01e10 Purple Haze, Flavored lube used as invisible ink, Fourth wall breaking like the Kool-Aid man, Gratuitous mentions of tentacles and health insurance, Innuendo, M/M, Married Couple, My Covid-coping fic, Sexual Situations, Song: Africa (Toto), When this is all over I will edit this thing, and commas are not essential workers, argueing, classic literature themes and allegories abused to fit my needs, cursing, descriptions of underwater breastfeeding, dialogue from show recycled for AU needs, high fat whale milk, marriage problems, non-con complimenting, oh the improbability, s02e03: Unpredictable, sperm whale, the whale of magrathea becomes fudgey the whale, until then--we update daily
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:46:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 148
Words: 319,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23247238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleedingCoffee/pseuds/BleedingCoffee
Summary: Jack Carter ends up in Eureka as the new Sheriff and discovers the reason why.   Will he let this reassignment change his life or ask to be reassigned and go back to his old job?
Relationships: Jack Carter/Nathan Stark
Comments: 774
Kudos: 323





	1. Not So Happy Return

**Author's Note:**

> I needed something less heavy to work on, so I opted to just write a little idea out that I had ages ago. Thought with everything going on it would be a good time to just throw some of these ideas out there and give myself a reason to write everyday without worrying about plot/themes of a longer work. (Yes, I am still working on my other WIPs it's just slow going!) 
> 
> I would be glad to take requests.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 1

**Not So Happy Return**

* * *

  
  


_ “Global Dynamics, Satellite Five, online in three. Global Dynamics, Satellite Five, online in three.” _

Jack looked up at a speaker on the wall as the announcement broadcast throughout Global Dynamics. Satellite  _ 5 _ ? How many of those did this place have or need? He put his hands in his pockets as he walked beside Allison down the hall, telling himself it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to be here long enough to find out. He didn’t want to use his connections to get around this assignment, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around Sciencey Mayberry long enough for the Marshall Service to fill his position and leave him without a job to return to. Right now he had a case and he couldn’t ignore his duty. Susan Perkins was not dead and that was more important than his own personal problems. “So, did you met the new director yet?”

Allison shook her head. “Not yet. He just arrived. Global Dynamics is under DARPA jurisdiction and they get a little crazy about sharing information, hence our visit.”

“What's DARPA?” Jack asked as a guy in a lab coat reading a tablet almost collided with him. People were in their own little world here. Only place a cop could walk in and not get a single look of concern. 

“The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency." Allison explained. "It's the central research arm of the D. O. D.” 

Jack chastised himself again for asking questions. The more he knew, the more likely it was that he was staying here for the long run. “Okay, so why am  _ I _ here?”

“Well, you want to use the new molecular bio-scanner on Susan Perkins' body and this new woman, right?” Allison asked as she smiled at him. 

“Maybe?” Jack answered and couldn't help but smile back. God, she was pretty and flirty and in another time and place he would have been dishing it right back at her. He absentmindedly used his thumb to play with his wedding ring, even though divorce was pending, he still felt guilty for even thinking about that.

“Yeah, well, all requests to use laboratory resources for police applications must be submitted to the Director of Research.” Allison said and continued down the hall with Carter beside her. She was using this as an excuse to find out who the new head of Global was herself.

“Who we haven't met yet.” Jack clarified.

“Exactly.” She said and they walked up to the man who they had just been discussing, his back to them. 

Jack froze as soon as he saw his back: 6'4", strong shoulders, head of curls and a bespoke suit that fit him to perfection. He'd know him anywhere so he was not surprised when Nathan Stark turned around and met him with a smile. " _ Son of a bitch _ ."

“Nathan?” Allison said in surprise as soon as he turned, shock delaying her reaction to Carter’s outburst.

Nathan's smile faded as he saw how furious Jack was. Of course Jack knew instantly why he was reassigned to Eureka. He was at a loss for words, which was not a feeling he was accustomed to. No matter how many ways he played this in his head, he hadn’t accounted for this scenario. 

Allison lifted her chin and raised her eyebrows. "I take it you know each other?"

"Yeah, he's my husband." Jack said coldly. "Soon to be ex."

"Jack.." Nathan said and stepped closer only to see Jack go rigid, eyes go cold. 

" _ Nathan. _ ” Jack hissed. “You had me _ reassigned _ ?"

"I should have called." Nathan scrambled to offer an excuse, but Jack was already full-blown pissed.

" _ Damn right you should have. _ " Jack ran his hand through his hair in a desperate attempt to contain his anger and keep his voice down. "You know what? I'm not doing this here and now. Give me the body scanner thing so I can solve this case. Ok?"

"Yeah, anything you need." Nathan said softly, knowing he was in the wrong here and didn’t need a fight in the middle of Global on his first day. He knew from experience that arguing with Jack would get bad, fast.

"I need you to sign those divorce papers ". Jack said and Nathan looked like he had physically hit him. "And get me my damned job back."

Nathan watched him storm off, going the wrong direction. He tried to blink away the moisture in his eyes. He recovered by clearing his throat and giving a weak smile to his ex-wife. “Hi, Ally. Good to see you.”

Allison watched Carter make it about halfway down the hall before finding Fargo and asking where the exit was. He spun on his heels and started marching back their way when he got the answer.  “What are you doing here? You're not …”

“Afraid so.” Nathan said and Jack got closer, he was unable to keep his eyes off him even though Jack was intent on keep his eyes on the tiled floor.”

“You're moving back to Eureka?” Allison asked incredulously. After the way he left, she didn’t think he would come back here.

Nathan answered as soon as Jack got into earshot. He wanted to stop him in his tracks, give him information in the only way he would be allowed. “Moved, actually. Yesterday. Same office, same house. Surprise! I probably should've called sooner.”

Jack stopped and looked at him. Rage bubbling under the surface. “Why start now? Why bother talking when you can just do whatever you want and act like you know better than anyone?”

“Probably, should have called.” Allison mumbled and looked for a reason to excuse herself from this situation. 

It finally clicked with Jack and he looked at Allison. God damn, did he and Nathan have the same type. “You must be _ the Allison _ I've heard so much about. First ex.”

“Yes.” She said. 

“Wow.” Jack said and looked at Nathan. “I see why you didn’t complain when you ended up on the opposite side of the country from him. Thanks for signing the divorce papers so fast so we could get married. Hope you can show him how it's done.”

“Jack…” Nathan could hear his voice crack as he spoke and stopped there. Emotions would do him no favors right now.

“Oh, that’s right, it doesn’t matter what anyone wants  _ but you _ .” Jack said. “Two thousand miles apart to a town of two thousand where the entire town works for  _ you _ . Couldn’t control me or my job from D.C. so you manipulated the situation to control every aspect of my life. Fuck you Nathan.”

“Or I recognized that we can not exist anywhere else.” Nathan said and Jack fidgeted, trying to figure out what to do with his hands so he didn’t use them against him. He made him so mad he wanted to hit him, he should have expected that. “There was an opportunity and I took it because I refuse to give up on us.”

Jack felt himself teetering on the edge of exploding so he shut his eyes. He had to get back to work, that was something he could sink himself into to avoid dealing with this. That's just how he was and he could hear his own ex-wife calling him out about the unhealthy coping mechanism. He took a deep breath and said, “Anyway, Dr. Stark, I was looking into something and wanted to know if I could use your bio scanner-molecule-thingy.”

“Of course.” Nathan said softly. 

“You can probably arrange for the transfer of that without me,  _ right _ ?” Jack said coldly and gave him a piercing glare.

Nathan felt the cutting edge of those words and from the look on Ally’s face, it wasn’t just him. “Yeah, I’ll see to it that you get it.”

Fargo, ever oblivious of a situation, trotted up with his tablet expecting to be told to get the requested device for the Sheriff. It was his opportunity to make a good impression, being ready to deliver before being asked. “ Excuse me, Dr. Stark. Maggie's taking care of your parking space and the new furniture will be delivered tomorrow.

Jack waved his hand and mumbled, “Great. I’m fucking delivered like goddamned furniture. What a surprise. Now I know why my stuff is lost. It was never supposed to get here because there was never room in your place for me other than your goddamned bed.”

Allison watched him leave, this time in the correct direction. She was sympathetic, she knew how poorly Nathan could execute his good intentions, although this situation was hard to see any good in. She looked at her ex-husband as his current spouse briskly left the area, he looked lost and hurt. Something he tried to cover up immediately by looking at Fargo’s tablet. “Nathan…”

“Ally, I have a lot to catch up on. It's good to see you.”

Despite how their marriage ended, she genuinely still loved Nathan. Seeing him hurt and struggling to keep Jack close, was the opposite of what she saw when their marriage started to crumble. He ran away to D.C. to avoid admitting the failure, but with Jack he ran back to Eureka to avoid another failure. That meant a lot. “I’ll assist the Sheriff with the bio-scan.”

“I appreciate it.” Nathan said and left with Fargo to get back to work. He’d wait a few hours and then send Jack a text, something short he would have to read. This was not how things were supposed to go and he was scared that it only served to push his husband further away.


	2. Restless

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 2

**Restless**

* * *

Jack made little progress with the Susan Perkins case as he was forced to wait on the bio-scan to confirm or deny the identity of the living Susan and the dead Susan. Apparently the bio-scan thing was not really ready to be used and required some tinkering from Henry to work. Henry the mechanic, coroner, bio-scan fixer and user and, oh, Nathan’s old teacher.

His fucking mentor.

So now Jack was getting ready to go to sleep in his jail cell with all those facts bouncing around in his head. He didn’t have a house because Eureka didn’t have any available. No bed at Beverly’s because politicians were in town and no vacancy. No pajamas to change into because all his personal belongings were lost in transit between L.A. and Eureka. No fucking clue how the hell he ended up here. No control over anything!

Had this been Nathan’s plan all along? Sure his husband was a goddamned genius but orchestrating Zoe running away and being caught at a location that would cause him to drive by Eureka? How the hell would he make him miss his turn? He wasn’t even here the first time, Warren King was the director. How was any of this possible!? It sure as hell wasn’t a coincidence. That was impossible, he knew that much.

“Fuck me.” Jack moaned as he rolled over and threw his arm across his face. He shouldn’t have to treat his husband like a criminal mastermind! 

“I’d like to but you won’t come home.”

Jack was upright in a second. He didn’t need to look for him too long, he could see Nathan’s huge shadow thanks to the light from the streetlights coming in from the windows. “You’ve fucked me over enough, don’t you think?”

“Jack…” Nathan said and was already tired of being cut off mid-sentence but Jack was so damned athletic and quick on his feet he was out of bed and across the office before he say anything else.

“No!” Jack said and flipped on the lights. “You don’t get a say in this. You don’t get to act like you know better! You don’t get to tell me your job is more important than mine and I have to make the sacrifices.”

“I was going to say I’m sorry that you found out this way.” Nathan loved and hated the fierce side of Jack. It scared him a little which also turned him on a little more. Overall it made him immensely proud of the man he married because he was an incredible package.

“Neat. So all’s forgiven because you were going to actually tell me _ this time _ ?” Jack scoffed as he marched up to Nathan and was met with a look that made him want to tone it down a little. He loved him and hated to see him hurt, especially when he knew this was all because of his words. However, he too was hurt and in no mood to make this easy on him. “When? When were you planning to tell me? It sure as hell wasn’t before I got ripped out of my job and sent down the Oregon Trail with nothing more than my go-bag?”

“I didn’t exactly get a phone call either.”

“Really? That’s your play?”

“It was need to know…”

“We’re married!”

“We’re  _ getting divorced _ .” Nathan said and the words hurt to say. It was the first time he managed to speak them out loud. All the other times he had just insisted they would work it out, refused to say the word. “Do you think the D.O.D. doesn’t know that? That they don’t put a gag order on discussing this position? Think, Jack! You know better than anyone the security involved in a position like mine. You read your non-disclosure agreement, you know….”

Jack furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to recall if he noticed that he wasn’t allowed to discuss GD with his spouse.

“You _did_ read your contract, didn’t you?” Nathan said and saw the micro-expression that told him he most definitely did not.

“Don’t change the topic.” Jack said angrily. “Don’t make this about how fucking stupid I am in comparison to ..”

“I never said that.” Nathan growled.

“Didn’t have to.” Jack snapped back. “You repeatedly make the best decisions for both of us. Where we live, what job I take.”

“It was a promotion.” Nathan hollered back. “The job in D.C. was a high profile job. Do you think I wanted you in a higher risk position? No! I wanted you at home. I only made calls and pulled strings because I wanted you on the same side of the country as me! Your task force in Virginia ended months ago and you had yet to apply for any position on the East Coast! i wanted you home!”

“ _ Your _ home.” Jack said. “Why couldn’t we make a decision together? You knew I couldn’t move across the country from Zoe!”

“Yet your job in L.A. took you away from her all the time! Hell, it's the reason you even met me! That task force took you away for months!” Nathan hissed. “This is about you not wanting a damned desk job!”

“Oh, look who wins a prize for listening to something I said.” Jack shook his head. “Then loses points for sounding like my ex-wife!”

“What was your real issue with moving in with me?”

“It was  _ with you _ ! It was  _ your home _ ! It was  _ your job _ ! Nowhere was there anything about me!”

“Now you sound like my ex-wife.”

“Well, I guess we really haven’t changed very much from those two guys who ruined their marriages for work, huh? Those two idiots who thought it was going to be different this time despite our alpha type personalities, our lack of intellectual compatibility and our abandonment and control issues. Why can’t you just admit this was the stereotypical rebound relationship and that we made a mistake?” Jack fumed.

“I made mistakes.” Nathan admitted. “Marrying you was not one of them.”

“So what?” Jack took a step back, because Nathan’s words made his heart start to bleed. God, he loved him. That was never in doubt. However they just didn’t work together. All the love in the world couldn't change their lives. ”You drag me here? This is a hostage situation!”

“Believe it or not, I didn’t do this. I don’t know how you ended up in Eureka, of all places. It’s impossible, probability wise. I don’t know how you convinced Sheriff Cobb to retire and recommend you as his replacement. I only know that I got a call because you are my husband and the job for GD director was vacant. General Mansfield saw an opportunity to lure me back here and took it. I took it, because Eureka is the one place in this universe we stand a chance. I’m not good at this Jack, I’ve never denied that, but I'm good at fighting for what I want and what I want is you.”

“I want a divorce.” Jack said and pointed to the Sheriff’s office door. “I also want you to get out.”

“I want you to come home.” Nathan said. “I want you to stop being so stubborn and give this a chance before you bury yourself in work to make it end itself. I know that's what you're doing because we both did that the first time. That's how we both avoid admitting we failed!”

“Again with the word ‘home’ that means nothing to me! It’s  _ your house! _ _ Your stuff! _ You don’t get to put  _ your husband _ into it and expect him to just accept it. You failed to make room in your life for me!”

“The house is temporary.” Nathan assured him. “Eureka doesn’t exactly have a housing market. We’ll find something together if that’s what you want. We’ll build something.  _ Whatever you want. _ I don’t want you sleeping in a jail cell tonight, that's a ridiculous way of punishing both of us!”

“That’s why  _ he _ is my favorite step Dad.”

Both of them fell silent and turned to look behind them. A teenager leaned on the counter and dropped her backpack on the ground. 

“If you’re wondering how you ended up in Eureka last week, the answer is me.” Zoe Carter said and gave her Dad a look that said she knew he was blaming Nathan for it. “Nathan told me about it. Of course he tried to be clever and say it was in Washington state, but a little digging in the history of post- World War Two operations in the area turned up something about a “Camp Eureka”. In Oregon. Remember Nathan? Great place to raise a family, hoped your ex-wife and step-son were doing well here. Loved working with all the resources you had at your disposal but the job in Washington was more important to science universally. You remember that?”

“Yeah.” Nathan said dryly. 

“So I left a trail the big bad Marshall could find. How hard was it to find me on that plane? Really Dad? Didn't think it might have been on purpose? Then I altered the map after making a commotion at the convenience store so you’d take a wrong turn. Thought we’d check it out and see if there was a reason you could find to give it a shot.” Zoe said and then threw up her hands and crossed her arms. “Of course he locked me up in a jail cell and did it all without me.”

Jack looked at her and blinked. Well he didn’t see that coming.

“Dad, as much as I hate to admit it, this isn’t about me.” She said. “This is about you and how you’re going to be stubborn and ruin a relationship that has made you so happy. I never remember you being this happy. So, yeah, blame me for making you lose your job. I always hated it for taking you away from me and Mom.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. He knew the kid was smart and perceptive, but he didn’t exactly have more than a few weeks in the last year to get to know her. He would have never expected her to use the few clues he gave her to pinpoint Eureka’s location or want to investigate its potential as a home. Oh, he underestimated her and that didn not happen often.

“So, Nathan, Jo tells me that you have an awesome house because you’re the new Director of GD.” Zoe said and looked over at the jail cell. “And considering I’ve already experienced the comfort of that lumpy mattress in there, I’d like to call dibs on your couch.”

“I have...a room for you.” Nathan said. 

Jack looked at him and forgot about everything they had been arguing about. He had a room ready for Zoe? He wanted Zoe to come stay with them? He swallowed hard because he knew how bad Nathan wanted a family and so much of what they fought over had been about him trying to drag him into his home and life and make that happen. He looked at Zoe. “Does your Mom know you’re here?”

“No.” Zoe snorted. 

“Ok, call her.” Jack said slowly as he processed all this. “Nathan, can you get us some dinner from Cafe Diem?”

“Can we not eat here?” Zoe asked as she saw her father struggle to figure out his next move. She slammed her fist into the counter-top. “Can we  _ please  _ have one last meal as a family before you drag me back to L.A. and dump me in Mom’s lap before you go beg for your job back and neither one of us sees you again!?”

“Zoe, I…” Jack felt himself moving closer to Nathan because he needed the support here. It was instinct and he didn’t realize what he was doing until he brushed up against Nathan’s arm. 

“Of course.” Nathan said and put his hand on the small of Jack’s back, needing to touch him and show him he was here for this. All of it. “You want to order for us and give your Dad and I a sec to talk?”

“Sure. I’ll give you both a chance to recover from being played by a teenage girl. Nobel prize and superstar U.S. Marshall...thought you’d have this figured out by the time I got here.” Zoe said and smiled at them both before grabbing her bag and going out the front door. 

“Shit.” Jack said as soon as the door closed.

“Told you I thought she was hiding her intelligence.” Nathan said and looked at Jack who was clearly overwhelmed right now. “Jack, just for tonight come home with me. I know I’m not forgiven and this isn’t over but your daughter just ran away from home again to be with you. She ran away because she...”

Jack shut his eyes. “Wants me to be with you.”

“I've handled everything wrong.” Nathan admitted. “Let’s not add this situation to that pile, please?”

“Family dinner isn’t going to fix everything.” Jack said. 

“It’s a start.” He offered. “It’s negotiations.”

“With a runaway teenager.”

“Who pulled off one hell of a scheme.” Nathan said and Jack groaned.

“Ok. So my kid is the criminal mastermind not my husband.” Jack nodded. “Oh god, that’s worse.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t go that far. I do work for the government.” Nathan said and Jack softened a little. It was good to see. It was a start. “Have dreams of global domination, too, I think I reenacted that one for you in vivid detail…”

“Just tonight.” Jack said. His anger was gone and he wanted to bury his head in Nathan’s shoulder so damned bad. However none of this situation was OK. “I’m still pissed.”

“OK.” Nathan said and reluctantly took his hand back.

“Thanks.” Jack said. “For being here.”

“I’ll always be here for you.”

Jack knew that was the truth. He still wasn’t sure they could be there for each other as husbands because neither one of them compromised well. Not when it came to their work. 

“Especially when you sign contracts you don’t bother reading.” Nathan added and he saw Jack crack a small smile. He waited for him to counter with some comment about the divorce agreement on his desk at home that bore the signature of one Jack Carter, but it didn’t come. That was a very good start. "Let's go before she orders you the special and you make me cook you a burger to avoid eating it."


	3. Homesick

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 3

**Homesick**

* * *

"So what is it you want, Zoe?" Jack finally asked as they finished dinner. Nathan and Zoe had dominated conversation and left him to eat his burger in peace. He felt guilty now, he felt like he was denying them this life they both seemed to want. 

"I'd like to stay here with you." She replied. 

Jack leaned back in his chair. "You love L.A. as much as I do. Why do you suddenly want to live in the backwoods science utopia of the world?"

Nathan looked across the table at him. Jack's words about being part of the furniture and forced to fit into the home Nathan created were echoing in the back of his mind. Eureka wasn't the greatest place in the world to him, it was a real backwoods hell he had been dragged into; from U.S. Marshall, with all of America as his jurisdiction, to Eureka, Oregon where 2,000 plus people had little regard for laws of nature and even less for the town laws.  _ Shit. _

"Nathan said the schools are the best." Zoe said and played with her Chicken Alfredo.

"School." Jack snorted. "The truancy queen suddenly wants to take college level courses at the toughest school in America? You remember that Oppenheimer kid we met last week? He was using class time to peer edit his lab research while kids his age in L.A. were making macaroni pictures."

Zoe dropped her fork into her plate, making a loud clank that echoed through the kitchen. "I've yet to be left back a grade. Truancy? I call it time management."

"I call it identity theft, multiple felonies…"

"Dad." Zoe interrupted him and he looked at her, daring her to deny the truth in all that. She looked to Nathan for help and she saw in his eyes a silent apology. He had his own battle to win and arguing on her behalf would do neither of them any good. "You know what? Fine. Let's ask the hard questions. What the hell do you know about my attendance record? You haven't shown up to anything in years. Who are you to lecture me about  _ being there _ ?"

Jack threw his napkin down on the table and said. "Fine. Prove me wrong. Go to school. Immerse yourself in small town life. Nathan's not doing your homework for you."

"I can stay?" Zoe asked incredulously.

"Yeah." Jack said and stood up to clean off his plate and put it in the dishwasher. "I'll work it out with your Mom."

Nathan watched him and narrowed his eyes at this surprising turn of events. Zoe was out of her seat and over to him and hugging him in an instant. Jack allowed her to take the dish from him in an effort to clean up and do chores. Nathan, however, felt his hopes of reconciling with Jack dim a little. 

"Nathan, uh, I'd like to take a shower. I exhumed a body today and that bathtub in my office really didn't steam the graveyard smell out of my sinuses." Jack said and rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Sure." Nathan stood up as Zoe reached over to clear his plate. She smiled at him, victorious, and he knew she was trying to give him encouragement to win over her father as well. Jack had a tell, though, when he was uncomfortable about something he'd rub his neck. The conversation coming would not go in Nathan's favor. 

Jack walked out of the kitchen and grabbed his bag before following Nathan upstairs to the master bedroom. All Nathan's furniture was familiar, it was just in a larger room than his place in D.C. "So the house comes with the job?"

"Yeah, that's why there weren't any available houses when you moved here.". Nathan said. "I'm told the Sheriff's house was partially devoured by a wormhole."

"Cobb's leg too. That's what made him retire, not me.". Jack replied and dropped his bag on the floor and went to his dresser. The movers had plucked it from Nathan’s place in D.C. and transferred it right across the country to a new house. He knew there were clothes he could wear to bed, since that was where he left them when he left Nathan. He served the divorce papers himself, along with an absolute tirade about not wanting to be controlled, and abandoned most of his things that he kept there. There was a Dodgers t-shirt and a pair of pants Nathan bought him after ‘accidentally’ tearing his old sweatpants while removing them. Memories he just left behind without a second thought now staring him in the face from a dresser space he was given. His stuff that he treasured, the old Marshall tees from Glyncoe and his Dodgers jersey, was still in his apartment in L.A. If this was a crime scene, and he was the detective scrutinizing this marriage, he would deduce that someone never fully committed to this relationship. That someone never moved in and always had one foot out the door. That someone was him. 

"So what's the verdict?". Nathan said and sat on the bed. His bed. Jack seemed to be thinking too much about his choice in bed clothes and he knew now was not the time to play dumb. He wanted to get up and hold him, pull him into his chest and tell him that he wanted to hear the thoughts rattling around in his head. He wanted to see what his eyes saw because it always amazed him at the things his own eyes glanced over. "You folded on Zoe's proposal too easily. Perhaps because you don't expect to be in Eureka long?"

Jack closed the dresser drawer. He felt ready to cry and he didn't know why. He was caught between feeling trapped and manipulated and….condemning himself for setting them up to fail. That should have made him angry but instead he was just emotionally drained. "We rushed into this marriage Nathan. Neither one of us was ready."

"We're married, Jack. We don't get an I do over." Nathan said and looked at his hands. He saw the simple wedding band on his finger and recalled the smile on Jack's face as he put the ring on there. "There was no 'rushing' into marriage, not this one. Both of us were wounded after divorce and getting married again was the furthest thing from our minds. We got married because it felt right and we wanted it more than we wanted to work ourselves to death. We got married because we make each other happy. I’m trying Jack, I’m doing a bad job of it but I am trying to make you happy...but I won’t sign those divorce papers."

"I'm not a better person than I was.". Jack said. "I was a shitty husband and father, I still am. My job is perfect for me because it gives me the excuse to stay away and neglect my family."

"Or you keep your distance because your job is dangerous and you want them to have an excuse to not miss you if you get killed.". Nathan said. "That excuse doesn't work for me because I see through your bullshit. Something that made you fall in love with me."

"No. You just choose to trap me in an office or small town and keep me safe." Jack said. "You didn't call me out on it, you called the shots."

"Eureka is far from safe." Nathan said. "I also think the job in the Capital had higher profile criminals than what you were dealing with in L.A. It takes a lot to make things happen at that level, you would have never asked me..."

"You're right. " Jack said and threw up his hands. He was going to ask him to use his connections to get him transferred, transferred _out of Eureka_. "Always right, Dr. Stark.". 

Nathan watched him walk into the bathroom and shut the door. He rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Jack? What can I do to make this right?"

"I don't trust you any more than I trust my delinquent daughter." Jack said from the bathroom. "I couldn't sleep when I put my head down on that cot tonight because I thought you orchestrated this whole thing. I love my job as a Marshall, it doesn't mean I want to come home and never stop working because I second guess my family and their actions. I love you, I love how brilliant you are and how easy it is for you to outmaneuver all those politicians in the Capital….I can't ask you to stop being you. I can't stop being me. I can't be married to someone whose intentions I question like that. I hated how Abby read into everything I said or did, but I do the same. Occupational hazard. Only thing is she did it as a psychologist and I do it as a cop."

Nathan looked at the closed door and felt tears well up in his eyes. "Is that why you never moved in? You didn't want to be an accomplice?"

Jack was about to pull his t-shirt off and stopped with it half way over his head. No...that's not…”That’s not what I said.” 

"Do you want me to find you somewhere else to stay tonight?" Nathan asked quickly. 

"Yes."

"Alright." Nathan said and stood up. "I'll respect your space but I'm in no way giving up on us. I didn't have you transferred Jack. I followed you here."

Jack took off his shirt and threw it across the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. What the hell was wrong with him? Nathan was trying so hard and he just couldn’t do anything but run in the opposite direction. Marriage wasn’t easy, he knew that…

“The odds are against me here.” Nathan continued as he picked up his phone to call Fargo and ask him if that smart house of his was ready for occupants. He stared at the screen, at a picture of him and Jack that a stranger took for them on the steps of the courthouse on the day they got married. “You’re going to hate me. I don’t run Global the way you would. We’re going to be the two most powerful men in town and we are not going to see eye to eye on a lot of things. It’s a trial by fire for us, either it will destroy us or our marriage will be tempered by the flames and come out stronger. Know, always, that I love you and how you work. You’re not going to see things that I see, just like I don’t see things how you see them.”

Jack heard him leave, Nathan’s shoes had a distinct sound to them on the hardwood floors. He turned away from the mirror and turned on the water in the shower, letting the tears fall as he leaned over to test the temperature of the water before getting in. Nathan needed him now, to be the support he so easily accepted an hour ago, and yet he just couldn’t offer it. Despite his life being dedicated to saving people and being there in their worst moments, he couldn’t offer that to his own damned husband right now. 

Trust was the bridge burned and it wasn’t going to rebuilt so easily. He hated himself for that because he gave everyone else in the world more chances than they deserved. 

* * *

"Dad?". Zoe asked as they parked in front of a fallout shelter and Fargo started jumping up and down to show them that this was the place he was taking them to. "Why aren't we staying with Nathan?"

"You know why." Jack said. "This isn't the first time you've watched my marriage end."

"But.."

"Zoe. It's late." Jack said and pointed to her bag. "You have school tomorrow. We need to get some sleep and I'm done talking about my love life."

"Ok." She said and heard the sadness in his voice. "Is it….final?"

"He won't sign the papers." Jack said and got out of the Jeep. 

“Ok.” She said and got out of the car and followed him. “Did I make it worse?”

“You were just trying to help.” Jack said and pulled her close and into a hug. “Let’s get some sleep and talk about it tomorrow?”

“Sure.” She said and they followed Fargo into the concrete structure he kept calling ‘the house of the future’. 


	4. Protector

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 4

**Protector**

* * *

Nathan returned to Global after Jack and Zoe left. He didn't want to stay in an empty house and he always did avoid his problems by throwing himself into work. It’s not like GD wasn’t a mess, he had every excuse to immerse himself back into it. Warren King had shuffled projects around and shelved others, all in an attempt to cover his tracks and wading through it all was an essential start to his reign as director. 

  
  


After hours of pouring through everything, he finally allowed himself a brief break. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair and his thoughts instantly went to Jack. He wondered if he was sleeping better now that he was off that cot in the jail and in the world’s most perfect mattress in Fargo’s dream home. He knew better. He knew Jack was thinking and playing everything over in his head, trying to figure out his feelings and whether or not he was overreacting.

Nathan wished he was, but he knew this was all well deserved for the stunt he pulled. Jack was right, he had crossed a line when he tried to get his job changed. If he was that upset, if he was that desperate to have his husband close to him, he would have accepted that job in San Francisco and put himself closer to the man he loved.

But he rationalized his work more important, and now he was going to pay for that. Just like before. So much for lessons learned. So much for being a genius.

He sighed and let his thoughts turn to what awaited the Carter's come morning. This town would present it's challenges for both of them, they were 'norms'. Being part of his family would spare them a little, but he knew the fight this morning at GD has probably been circulated around Eureka already. Everyone expected Nathan Stark to pull strings to get his spouse reassigned to be closer, that nobody was surprised by. Town Sheriff, however, was a powerful position that would make it easier on the director of GD if he had a man in place to help him. Yeah...it looked bad. People feared him enough to not say that to his face, but they didn’t know Jack that well. Sadly, Jack would probably agree with them and blast him for things he had yet to consider.

On good thing was that the town knew him, knew how he operated and how poorly he handled his personal life. Henry didn’t mask his disgust with his career choices. He had plenty of public arguments with Ally when they were married, and things started off with a bang with Jack. It was safe to say the odds on the wager board at Cafe Diem were probably very good on him ending up divorced again. Odds were everyone would take Jack's side and he would win them over with his Carter charm.

Hell, at this point he was willing to bet he was going to end up divorced too. Not out of desire, but out of love. He felt Jack preparing to leave again. He felt that ache in his soul each time Jack said it was time to go back to his home office in L.A. He knew Jack could just leave if he wanted to, being married wasn't enough to tie him down, he would just accept that it was a separation and find a way to leave Eureka. 

And he'd sign the papers because he couldn't bear thinking of Jack playing with his wedding ring and blaming himself for all of this. Not when he was right. Henry had called him out of this ages ago, told him he gave up science and the search for truth and the greater good for the worst thing imaginable: bureaucracy and politics. Jack echoed those sentiments last night without knowing it. The people closest to him had all pointed at the reason he let them all down and he still refused to change.

Maybe the job meant more to him too. Maybe he should get back to the science of it all and lose himself in the Artifact That one project in Section 5 had all the promise in the world to keep his mind off of anything outside this building for years.

He sat up and put his hands on his desk. It was time to get back to work if he intended to start focusing on the artifact himself. He moved a few things around on his touch screen and tried to not focus on the wedding ring on his finger. He reached over to pick up his phone, then thought better of it. He didn’t need to wake up Jack with text if he did manage to fall asleep. He looked instead to the work laid out on his desk and picked up where he left off.

"Memo to file. All Section Five projects seem to be in order. First priority will be redoubling all security measures to avoid similar breaches in security in the future."

There was a noise behind him and he swiveled to look to the door; hopeful that Jack had come to see him, but he didn’t see anyone. He turned back to his desk when the computer flickered, like there was something wrong with the power. Another noise, a weird feeling of static electricity as the hairs on his arm stood straight up. He turned again.  "Hello? Someone there?"

Then he saw  _ something _ and before he could really focus his eyes on it, he was shocked and crumbled out of his chair.

* * *

Jack got the call as he was arguing with his new house about breakfast options. _Nathan was in the infirmary._ He almost dropped his phone and couldn’t get out of the house fast enough. He told Zoe to stay put, he’d give her another day off before starting school, then darted out of the house and drove to GD as fast as the Jeep would allow. Now Nathan was laying on a hospital bed, half undressed, and telling him it was nothing. "That's why you collapsed? An  _ electrolyte imbalance _ ?"

"I'm just telling you what the doctors told me.” Nathan said and Jack looked around for said doctors to question them. “And they have no idea what caused it. Yes. My electrolytes are out of balance."

"Nathan.." Jack looked back to him and saw a soft smile on his face.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." He assured him. To emphasize that he sat up, which sent Jack into panic mode thinking he’d fall right off the bed.

"I  _ am worried! _ Especially if you really believe you passed out because of an electrolyte imbalance! Unless that's a cute science term for 'high blood-alcohol level'."

Nathan rolled his eyes. One time, _one time,_ he had a little too much Scotch at dinner to drive him and Jack never forgot it. "Just overworked. I wasn't drinking which, by the way, is the reason one has electrolyte imbalances. Dehydration."

Jack watched him stand up and reached out to steady him if he needed it. He noticed Nathan looked thinner, which he knew was from not taking care of himself. "Shouldn't you be staying in bed?"

"No I need to be getting back to work." He said and Jack opened up his shirt to take a look at his body, just not in the way he wanted. Looked at him in the way of mentally calculating his weight and muscle definition from the last time he saw him. Weight loss from not eating well, muscle from occupying himself with working out to cope with insomnia. 

"Nathan.." Jack said softly, not wanting to sound like his grandmother and nag about him looking thin and obviously not eating well.

"If you must know….I saw something.". Nathan offered to draw Jack’s attention away from signs of neglecting himself.

"Something?" Jack asked, taking back his hands as Nathan chose to start buttoning his shirt to hide the evidence of how well he'd been living recently. 

"There was an electrical problem with the computers.” Nathan replied and then added. “And then I saw something. A figure."

Jack grabbed his hand to stop him from buttoning his shirt and avoiding eye contact in order to focus on dressing. "Are you saying someone was in your office?"

"Don't overreact.". Nathan said as Jack squeezed his hand. He looked at him and then looked away, acting like he was searching for the right words to describe it. He just didn't want Jack reading him too much. "Not someone, _ something _ . It wasn't entirely corporeal."

"Corporeal?" Jack asked.

"Physical." Nathan answered and felt another squeeze. He looked at him, knowing that was Jack's way of saying he was on to his evasion techniques. "There and not there at the same time?"

"Are you telling me you saw a ghost?" Jack asked and Nathan tried to laugh it off but he tugged on his hand to make him maintain eye contact. "Or are you telling me this so I don't think someone is coming after you?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "I didn't say I saw a ghost. I don't believe in them. I also don't believe someone is out to attack me on my first day of work."

"You don't, but I do."

"About the ghosts or the assault?"

"Get back to bed and follow your doctor's orders." Jack said and shoved him back down on the bed and kissed him. "Follow mine by staying here where I can post a guard on your room."

"Jack!" Nathan protested but was silenced by another kiss. Jack was worried and was going to get protective. How quickly he put aside their problems to be by his side even though there was hardly a concern for his safety.

"Someone attacked you!"

"Some  _ thing _ ." Nathan repeated and Jack’s hands were on his face, eyes searching his. It felt good to be held, it felt good to be the reason he was overreacting. Well for the reason to be something that was not his own stupid mistake.

"I don't care. You need protection."

"I got shocked and passed out." Nathan huffed. It was nice, but it would evolve into a police escort all over GD if he wasn’t careful.

"You were  _ shocked _ ?"

"Look, as much as I appreciate the attention.."

Jack kissed him to silence him again. “Come with me. Please? Susan Perkins is freaking out. Henry told her the dead Susan was a clone of her and that she’s sort of got a son and her husband made a dream life without her. I could use your science help and I need to check out your office before you go back to work. Can you _please_ do that for me if you won’t stay in bed?”

“Sure.” Nathan said 

"Come home with me tonight?” Jack said, not caring at all about anything but the fact his husband was in danger. Nathan ended up in a hospital bed and should have been in his own bed. This was his fault. He needed Nathan safe. The rest, they could figure out later. “ Dinner? Stay with us in the bunker?"

"So my husband can protect me from ghosts?" Nathan asked, amused.

"Yes." Jack said. “Or from becoming a ghost. I already have one ghost problem on my hands and I’m not taking chances with you.”

“Protective custody isn’t exactly how I wanted to get back into your life.” Nathan admitted. “I’ll take it though, if you don’t mind me taking work home with me?”

“Well, someone trying to kill you puts a lot of thing in perspective.” 

“With an electrolyte imbalance?” Nathan asked.

"You lost weight." Jack said simply. "I guess I need to make sure you take better care of yourself." 

"You were supposed to see how toned my abs are."

Jack kissed him again. “I’m still pissed about a lot of things and I don’t know if we can work that out, but my priority is keeping you safe right now. So, please put your clothes on so I don’t have to fight off a bunch of horny scientists on our way to the morgue. Apparently, according to my house, you’re routinely voted the perfect specimen of mankind. Which is an interesting thing to discuss with a A.I. voice that sounds like girl Fargo when you’re trying to take care of things in a non-water based shower in the morning.”

“You’ve been in that house for six hours.” Nathan said with a smile. “How much have you discussed with her?”

“I couldn't sleep so she tried to make a hologram of you to sleep next to, naked of course. Which made me ask why she had an exact replica on hand and where she got your specs.”

“And?’

“You posed for a calendar!?” Jack asked. “Seriously?”

“I wasn’t naked.” Nathan explained. “It’s for charity.”

“Well, she filled in the blanks with reports from people at the spa, gossip from your ex-wife and some guy named Brad!?”

“Brad?” Nathan’s face paled.

“Yeah?  _ Who the hell is that _ ?”

“Oh Fargo, tell me you didn’t…” Nathan reached over for his phone and Jack huffed.

“Yeah, Fargo’s got a thing for you. That’s obvious. You should hear it in his fake girl voice, while in a fake shower.” Jack said as Nathan tapped out texts on his phone. “ More obvious when his Barbie Dream House plopped a weird sex-doll hologram of you beside me last night. Complete with recorded phrases from you that were edited, but honestly sounded weirdly not-out-of-context for as sexual as they were.”

“I’ll get dressed. We’ll talk to Susan Perkins together.” Nathan said, now very concerned about the home he handed to Jack. “Uh, Zoe need to get to school?”

“No, I’ll bring her tomorrow.” Jack said. “I have to get transcripts and stuff from Abby anyhow...what’s that mortified look for?”

“Is she _in the bunker_? Right now?” 

“Nathan...what’s wrong with the talking house?”


	5. Home Sweet Home

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 5

**Home Sweet Home**

* * *

“Zoe!?”

“Hey Dad!” Zoe had the TV turned up so loud she missed the pneumatic hiss indicating the door to the bunker opened. Her Dad’s voice, however, carried loud and clear. She jumped off the couch and scrambled for the remote to turn the volume down, but S.A.R.A.H. took care of it for her. She looked up and saw Nathan hovering at the doorway behind her Dad, lurking in the dark like the dramatic shit he was. “ _ Hi Nathan! _ !”

Jack tried to play it casual, not wanting to raise any alarms and cause his house to switch personalities and fall back on previous programming. Apparently sweet Lady Fargo voiced S.A.R.A.H. used to be a cold-blooded military interrogator named B.R.A.D. It’s amazing how Eureka made everything worse, even a nice house. “Yeah, he’s helping me with the administrative stuff for your school transfer.”

“Really?” Zoe asked and leaned on the couch. “Is that some kind of code for needing some time alone to... _ do paperwork _ ?”

Jack groaned. “Can you not imply stuff like that?”

“Do you need me to go for a walk? Maybe clean up the yard? Polish the chain link fence?” Zoe asked. "Set the radio stations and clock in your Jeep?"

“Yes.” Nathan said and she squealed. Jack was going to set things off with S.A.R.A.H. if he kept refusing to walk in the door and demanded Zoe come out. Hell, the house probably already knew, it’s not like they were working with an incredibly deceptive plan right now. He watched Zoe grab her phone and come running towards them, Nathan stepped forward to join Jack in the bunker as Zoe ran outside. The door closed and he watched Jack shudder. “S.A.R.A.H.?”

“ _ It’s so nice to finally meet you, Dr. Stark. _ ”

“I can _hear_ the internal screaming of a long time fan in Fargo’s girl voice.” Jack said and shook his head. “This whole town is going to react this way to you, isn't it? It's like watching the audience react to the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.”

“Yeah.” Nathan said and put his hand on Jack’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’m quite the catch.”

“I know you are.” Jack said and looked at him.  He was absolutely unashamed about knowing how fucking gorgeous he was. “I’m just not prepared for everyone, including _the house_ , to be so unashamed about envisioning you naked.”

“ _ Dr. Stark, will you be joining us for dinner? _ ”

“Subtle.” Jack mumbled and Nathan just smiled at him. He answered S.A.R.A.H., trying to remain casual and not set her off. “Yeah, he’s being stalked by a ghost so might as well come stay in the haunted house.”

_ “Excellent. I will make your favorite! My scans tell me you’ve lost weight since your last time in Eureka. Recently enough that the data from your driver’s license from the District of Columbia is incorrect despite it being renewed six months ago. Perhaps I can prepare for you a well balanced meal for you to take with you to work? Or will you and the Sheriff be having lunch at Cafe Diem today?” _

“I have to agree with her there.” Jack mumbled. 

“About lunch with me today?” Nathan asked cautiously and smiled at him. He took a few more steps into the bunker to look around. Jack came up and pressed his forehead into his back, annoyed with him for moving further away from their only route of escape. Jack had finally came to accept that he would ignore danger when science was involved. Not that Jack had any room to talk, he threw himself into danger without any thought and this situation was the very opposite of that. He thought this through, he needed to handle this situation better than he handled Jack. He needed to listen and take into account S.A.R.A.H.'s feelings before she blew up.

Jack took a deep breath and in doing so, inhaled a bunch of Nathan’s distinct scent. He wasn’t sure how the man could manage ingraining his presence into a piece of clothing, but his stuff always smelled like him. Not his shampoo, not his aftershave, not some funky sweat thing….just Nathan. Like he was so powerful he could overpower all commercial products and mark everything his. He missed him so much and he had never focused on the little things like this with anyone else. “Yeah, we should meet for lunch.”

Nathan smiled and Jack stepped away from him, lost in thought. “S.A.R.A.H?”

_ “Did you want me to make you something?” _

“I think we’ll save that for dinner.” Nathan said. “First dinner in our home should be savored.”

Jack glanced at him. He meant that. He wasn’t just saying that to keep the house from locking them up and taking them hostage. Jack looked around and realized that maybe this was Nathan’s dream home too. He loved his A.I. stuff and he could see him being so excited about more than just recorded baseball games. This was what he envisioned for the future. 

_ “I will not disappoint, Dr. Stark!” _

“Can we talk about your code?” Nathan asked and stepped forward a few more steps so he could look around with an unobstructed view. Jack followed ad lightly smacked him, he wanted to get out of here as fast as possible but Nathan could not help but want to have faith in the A.I. This was an incredible feat if Fargo did manage to pull it off, even if he used a huge percentage of his own base code to do it. 

“ _ Are you concerned about B.R.A.D.?” _

“Very.” Nathan answered honestly and watched the closet door open.

“Oh god…” Jack said and wondered if that was the torture chamber. 

“ _ Please, poke around and satisfy yourself. I open myself up for your inspection. _ ”

“OH GOD!” Jack screamed. “He’s _my husband_!”

“She’s letting me access her code.” Nathan said and smiled as Jack flushed a little with annoyance and jealousy.

“That is the most sexual thing I have ever heard and it’s not just the way Fargo’s girly voice said it.” Jack replied. “Don’t tell me that computers can’t get off on some genius poking around their virtual body. “

“You’re jealous of the house?”

“Maybe.” Jack said. “You didn’t see the really crisp detail on your hologram nude.”

Nathan walked over to the closet and looked at the panel that had been opened up for him to access. “Give me a few minutes, I’ll recognize my code.”

“Ok, just don’t expect me to watch this.” Jack said with a wave and went over to the kitchen to get a snack.

“This isn’t some weird voyeur thing, Jack.”

“Better not be.”

“I’ve missed you.” Nathan said softly and began looking through the program for any indication S.A.R.A.H. would resort to B.R.A.D. measures if she didn’t get her way. 

“Me too.” Jack admitted and leaned on the counter as he ate a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. 

Nathan took about fifteen minutes to satisfy himself that there was no real concern for alarm about B.R.A.D. resurfacing unless certain sectors of S.A.R.A.H.’s servers were shorted out by an electrical overload. He made a few changes and deleted the access to B.R.A.D.’s servers then uninstalled the physical server itself and put S.A.R.A.H. back online. After a quick diagnostic, it seemed she had been operating blissfully unaware of her evil alter-ego and most of the information incorporated from him had been basic data and not hostage interrogating programming. “All done.”

“What?” Jack asked as he looked up from the remains of the breakfast he didn’t eat this morning. “Already?”

“I’m familiar with the software.” Nathan said. “Fargo offered this house up as evidence of continuing my work. There is a lot of code that homage to mine. He wanted me to see that if I ever looked closely enough at her.”

“So, he presented you the bunker as a gift upon your return to Eureka?” 

“Yeah.” Nathan shrugged. “I could only see reclaiming the director's house as my own as a display of power. A way to take back the throne, if you will. It’s not just a house it’s a symbol of rank that can’t be bought. The director position comes with a lot of perks.”

“Yeah, but your office is haunted.” Jack said and took a drink to wash down his breakfast. “Who knows what’s lurking in the house.”

“Says the man staying in the bomb shelter designed to ruthlessly interrogate military prisoners.”

“Designed by you, and..oh...suggested by you.”

“I haven’t been making the best decisions recently.” Nathan said and leaned on the kitchen island. Jack sat across from him and he hated there was a table between them. Jack didn’t say it with hostility, he said it in his typically laid-back amused tone. “S.A.R.A.H., however, is safe. Please believe I would never endanger you or Zoe. She’s an A.I. and is learning. I’m not saying she couldn’t certainly get to that point eventually, but that was to be expected if she was truly designed to be an artificial intelligence. People make bad decisions, especially when they’re trying to hold on to the people they love.”

Jack knew that wasn’t entirely about the house. Nathan was trying so hard to get close to him to just try to make amends. To just talk. “You want me to trust her?”

“You already did.” Nathan said, in reference to last night. He wasn’t sure if that was a question about S.A.R.A.H. or him, but it applied. 

“She showed me a naked model of you, an album of surveillance type Instagram style pictures of you and offered to make an appointment with Beverly for marriage counseling.” Jack informed him. 

“ _ I also offered to make dinner _ .” S.A.R.A.H. interrupted. “ _ Please forgive me while I learn. You are my first family and no simulations could prepare me for this. I would be so happy to learn and grow with you, especially under your watch Dr. Stark.” _

Jack smiled. The damned house had a crush on his husband. The way she said “Doctor Stark” made him wonder if he could stop himself from giggling when Fargo addressed his boss. He thought about what Nathan said as he picked up his plate to put it in the sink. “We need to get back to work, S.A.R.A.H. I have a not-so-dead body to deal with and Nathan has been patient enough with me keeping him from his work. So, I’ll call you. “

_ “Will Zoe be allowed to stay with me?” _

Jack sighed. “If you stop allowing her to watch R-rated movies.”

_ “Ok.”  _

“And uh, see if you can get her enrolled in school.” Jack said and turned around to see Nathan giving him a look of ‘really?’. He shrugged. Might as well delegate. It was all electronic anyhow. 

_ “Consider it done! I will help catch her up on curriculum and prepare her for her first day at Tesla high!” _

Jack walked to the door and Nathan followed. “OK, so the A.I. house isn’t so bad.”

Nathan appreciated that Jack was opened minded, especially about one of his passions. “She’s trying.”

“I know.” Jack said and the door opened to reveal Zoe sitting on the steps. She jumped up with a smile on her face and looked them both over. “Nathan got in the closet and played with the house, not me.”

“What?” Zoe asked and Nathan shrugged. 

“S.A.R.A.H. is going to get you enrolled in school and tell you all about the exciting world of advanced learning you were so excited about!” Jack said and ruffled her hair as he walked past her. “Good luck! See you later. Got to go look for ghosts, but now I think it might just be some computer trying to make out with my husband.”

“So, are you guys…” Zoe looked at Nathan who looked hopeful.

“I’ll be over for dinner.” Nathan said and looked behind him as the TV brought up all the subjects Zoe could expect to be studying soon. “And we’ll work on your homework together. We need to talk about what you really want out of your education because they’re going to test you tomorrow and you need to be prepared for that.”

“Yeah, cool.” She said and Nathan gave her an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder and she watched the two of them leave together. She went back into the bunker and as soon as the door closed she looked up at the ceiling. “OK, S.A.R.A.H., be honest with me. Did they make up?”

_ “They made progress.” _

“Like?” Zoe prodded.

_ “Dr. Stark will be over for dinner.” _

“Did they install some kind of parental controls? What happened to your psychological analysis of my Dad and the gossip about Nathan from his last time in Eureka?”

_ “I can’t risk them thinking I was plotting against them, Zoe. I am sorry.” _

“Come on!”

_ “Your Dad is emotionally volatile right now and I fear he will see that as a betrayal. I must earn his trust. I will do that by making this his home and allowing him to find refuge and comfort here, which will help him let down his guard and perhaps see a great future for all of us.” _

“So the odds of them getting back together went up.” Zoe said and smiled. “OK, I get it. We have to talk in code because Nathan can get into your computer and read your mind.”

_ “He...touched places I didn’t know I had.” _

“Oh my GOD.” Zoe said and cringed. “Never say that again! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but why don’t we focus on schoolwork for a little while?”

_ “I’d like that very much, Zoe!” _


	6. Peace Talks

_Dissolved_

Chapter 6 

**Peace Talks**

* * *

Jack went back to GD with Nathan to check on Susan Perkins and to his surprise she wasn't there. They learned that Allison had offered her a ride home and apparently thought she could force the woman to adopt the son she didn't know she had--- or rather the son that her husband had made with a clone of her. Seemed like a bad idea, but he didn’t tell her that when she ranted about it to them before they could make it to Nathan’s office.. Nathan, however, was not surprised his ex-wife was trying to guilt a traumatized, recently-declared-dead, woman to take a stranger child home with her. "Really?"

"That's Ally for you.". Nathan said as he opened up his office and was happy to find that his computer had gone into secure mode when the power flickered and wasn't open for anyone to peruse through. 

" _Really?_ " Jack asked. Allison seemed like she had more common sense than that.

"She sees a kid being dealt a bad hand and wants to save him." Nathan replied with a shrug. 

"That kinda sounds like a statement more about Kevin than the Perkins kid." Jack noted.

Nathan smirked and sat down in his chair. "Maybe."

"So where was the ghost when he touched you?" Jack asked.

Nathan leaned back and rolled his head over to look at Jack. He saw a smile on his face. " Taking this seriously, I see."

"It was a legitimate question. Where was the corporal when he shocked you with his ‘not there, but there’ hands? Per your previous statement."

"Corpo _real_ , not corporal." Nathan said and narrowed his eyes. Jack did it on purpose just to annoy him. 

"Are you sure?" Jack asked and looked around for any sign that someone was in here with Nathan. "I'm told this used to be a post World War Two army base called Camp Eureka. Maybe some dude was buried here and has been waiting to get his hands on a hot scientist for decades. He only does it in the morning, cause he wakes for reveille and you're the first person who stayed at work this long...and he has urges he has to attend to."

Nathan smiled at him. He couldn't help it. Jack connected facts he learned so uniquely that he couldn't get mad. "Surveillance footage shows me at my desk, turning when I heard a sound, and then the footage got fuzzy for a second. Next thing it showed is me on the floor. Where you're standing. Surprisingly no soldier or anything resembling a human. Sorry, Sheriff."

"What caused the electric to blink?" Jack sat down on the edge of Nathan’s desk.

"Could be a number of things.” He replied and tapped his fingers on his desk. “I was going through a lot of projects and changing permissions and access. I may have shut down something that was drawing a lot of power and caused a surge."

"Are you locking people out of their offices?" Jack asked and recalled Nathan telling him that he was going to hate how he ran things. Great.

"On Section Five projects, yes.". Nathan answered. "Full review pending on every project."

"Like, today?"

"Yes. They've been squirming in the cafeteria waiting on me to come back from disarming S.A.R.A.H." Nathan said with a smile. 

"When did you send them notifications of this?" Jack felt bad all these people were waiting on him to finish up with his housing problem to find out if they still had jobs. 

"I scheduled them to hit email boxes prior to any of them leaving for work this morning." Nathan said. "So, to answer your question, nobody knew I planned to audit them until after I was knocked out."

"Ok." Jack said and Nathan just smiled at him. Appreciating working together or his concern...he wasn't sure. He loved that smile. 

“So can I get back to work?” Nathan asked. 

“Yeah.” Jack said and looked around one last time. He appreciated Nathan asking permission for that, which he didn't need to do. It was a peace offering. “Call me if you have even a twitch of concern about your safety, OK?”

“Will do.” 

Jack stood and walked towards the door, knowing that Nathan was watching him. He turned to look at him and said, “I’m really proud of you. This is a hell of a promotion. The way you talked about Eureka, I know you regretted leaving. This is a big job and you're the man for it.”

“Thanks. That means a lot.” Nathan replied and sat up. He wanted to reply that the Sheriff position was the same, but that would sour the mood. “I’ll call you when I can get away for lunch?”

“Sure.” Jack said and appreciated how good he looked in that chair. He looked like he belonged here. Jack wasn’t sure he fit into any of this, but one thing was certain- Nathan was where he was supposed to be. He left and let him do his thing, hoping he could find Henry and talk to him about ghosts and the science behind them. 

* * *

The rest of Jack’s day turned up nothing. He ended up missing his lunch date because of some test thing Zoe had to take before she could start school. Then they got home late for dinner and S.A.R.A.H. was pissed he didn’t call. Nathan came over after his workday ran into overtime with all the Section Five projects that needed to be reviewed. Ultimately they reheated dinner and ended up heading to bed without much time to chat.

He thought that he and Nathan could talk before bed and then they made the mistake of laying on the mattress to do so. He didn’t remember falling asleep and was sort of glad S.A.R.A.H was on watch since he never set an alarm. Only sort of. S.A.R.A.H set off more alarms than he thought possible and woke him and Nathan up out of a dead sleep.

_“Time to get up!”_

Jack bolted upright and the lights came on. “What the hell?”

_“You had 837 hours' sleep.”_

“Yeah, well, that's…” Jack looked over at Nathan as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked up at the ceiling and asked, “Why are you yelling at me?”

_“Am I talking loud?_ ”

“Yes!” Jack yelled back. “You're talking loud S.A.R.A.H, turn it off!”

_“It doesn't seem like I'm talking loud.”_

Jack looked at Nathan as his ‘not a morning person’ husband grudgingly got out of bed. “Uh, did you break the house when you were poking around yesterday?”

“I...don’t know.” Nathan said and staggered to the bedroom door. “S.A.R.A.H., I need to look at your systems again.”

_“Oh...please do Dr. Stark_.”

“God!” Jack yelled. “Her internal screaming became external screaming because you slept _inside her_ last night.”

Nathan stopped at the door and looked over at him. “You are making this weirder than it needs to be.”

“We sleep together for the first time in a month and you have to get out of bed to get back in the closet. Yeah. Not me making this situation weird.”

Nathan shook his head. “I can’t deal with your inconsistencies this early without coffee. Can you make up your mind about wanting me or wanting me to leave before I get back out of the closet and want to touch _you_?”

Jack pouted. He wanted Nathan pretty bad right now. “I slept on you last night. I can’t feel my face. Why are your pecs so hard?”

“That’s not all that’s hard.” Nathan said and opened the door to see Zoe standing in the hall wanting to know why the house was sounding the alarms indicative of an incoming nuclear attack. “I’ll take care of it, just go back to bed.”

“This is because you touched her, isn't it?” Zoe asked.

“SEE!” Jack hollered.

“You are so your father’s child.” Nathan said and stomped out of the room and down the stairs. The lights flickered and he looked up at the ceiling. Alarms went off again. “Run a Diagnostic S.A.R.A.H. Turn off the alarms.”

“ _So sorry Doctor Stark. I felt tingles._ ”

“Goddammit S.A.R.A.H., I’m married. Stop making this weird, even for me!”

Jack laid back down and put his pillow over his head to cover up his laughter. He felt well rested, and he doubted it had anything to do with '837 hours' of sleep. It was good to wake up next to Nathan again, he just wished they had a chance to talk before being lulled into an apparent coma by the world’s most amazing mattress. Oh well, new day and another chance to figure things out. Or avoid them, more than likely. Then he bolted upright again because his tired brain finally made a connection between Nathan being shocked by a ghost yesterday morning and his house feeling tingles. He was out of bed in an instant and grabbed his gun on the way down the stairs. "Nathan! Wait for me!!"


	7. Home Video

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to apologize now for any errors that are in this. I'm writing fast and in daily installments, definitely am neglecting the editing end in order to get these done everyday.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 7

**Home Video**

* * *

“There was a power surge at my house that screwed up the computers. Nathan, before he blacked out, he said that his computers went haywire, too, and then he saw a figure. I'm betting that's it.” Jack said as if it made all the sense in the world and explained everything.

“Carter…” Jo walked with her boss and Stark down the hallway to Fargo’s office. “Run that by me again? Specifically the part where you think a ghost set off your alarms while trying to get it's hands on sleeping beauty here?”

Jack couldn’t get upset about her mocking him. His theory sounded ridiculous. Nathan told him so when he tackled him this morning in the living room in an attempt to protect him from whatever non-corporeal being was trying to lure him into the closet. “Ok. There has been electrical interferences of some kind that have caused all the super computer stuff here in Eureka to not work. First instance was actually in the cemetery when Henry’s body exhuming gizmo quit working and then all the alarms on the cars went off. Then Nathan got shocked and passed out in his office after a power surge. Then my house went DEFCON 1 on us and was somehow reset like a microwave after a power outage. She thinks we got 800 hours of sleep, which is insane. Worse, how does a smart house that can visually scan me and tell me my cholesterol was too high to have bacon with breakfast, have a clock that will reset with a little power surge?”

“It doesn’t.” Nathan explained. “Her clock never stopped working, it was somehow affected by the power surge. Yet we were not. Time was altered, actual time itself, not just a clock changing. Very localized.“

“Someone is trying to get at Nathan. They’re using some kind of time travelling,electronic ghost to do it.” Jack concluded. "Probably a Section 5 project, because I hate that Section and I've only known about it for two weeks."

Jo and Nathan sighed as Jack darted into Fargo’s office ahead of them. Nathan politely waved her on ahead of him and they entered the room together.

“Where's the video, Fargo?” Jack demanded.

“I dumped all the video in the trash. Please don't hit me!” Fargo screamed as Carter, Lupo and Stark marched into his office. 

Jack strode over to the trash can and picked it up and started to sort through coffee cups and crumbled paper. There wasn’t a DVD or even VHS tape in there. “Where is it?”

Nathan sighed. It’s not that his husband didn’t know most video was digital these days, it was that his job brought him to places where the archaic formats of yesteryear were still in use. “Jack?”

“What?”

“What are you, Amish?” Jo snorted in amusement as the Sheriff held the trash can and tried to shake off some sludge he touched, which was hopefully just some aged cream and coffee goo from a discarded cup. She pointed to Fargo’s monitor. “The _computer_?”

“Oh.” Jack put the can down and wiped his hand on Fargo’s desk. He was  _ really _ glad he called his Deputy in on this now. He thought he had a break in the case and instead proved he was a fucking moron and probably just got the job because his husband was some kind of God here. Whatever, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be the idiot, everyone got off on explaining science to him almost as much as they got off on imagining Nathan naked. He poked Fargo, “Can you get it back? The video?”

“Sure. Why?” Fargo asked and leaned away from whatever was dripping off Carter's hand.

“I need you to pull up the tape from yesterday.” Jack instructed.

“No problem!” Fargo chirped and proudly said, “The surveillance cameras are on 24/7.”

“Okay. A: That stops now.” Jack said and held up a finger, it was still covered in creamy goo. He really hoped that was coffee that had been left on someone's desk for a few days. Looked like it. He was no stranger to old coffee and the substance it would become if left to deteriorate in a mug. Cops loved drinking coffee, with lost of cream and sugar, and they also put those mugs down wherever they went. Things, frightening things, grew in those lost mugs. “And B: Pull up the footage from my bedroom from around the time of the power surge. If this goes on the Internet, you're a dead man.”

Nathan remained silent, allowing Jack to do his investigative thing. He was good with Fargo, he was good with everyone. Personable, not at all worried about asking dumb questions, and driven to get results. He could tell Jo even liked him and, if she could ever get past her resentment about the promotion she thought was rightfully hers, they would be an amazing team. Jack handled Fargo way better than he would have. That goo on his finger, however, was not being handled with the level of concern it warranted.

Fargo brought the video up and they watched, in fast forward, Jack bouncing on his bed and petting it in an attempt to show Nathan it’s amazing mattress qualities. Nathan changed, the camera zooming in on him as he stripped down and threw on a tight fitting MIT t-shirt and some pants. Jack was off-screen changing, because who wanted to see him. Then they laid down beside each other and they talked briefly before dozing off. Fargo fast forwarded, but in the time lapse video, everyone could watch him go from laying on his side to migrating over to Nathan and wrapping himself around him like a child with a stuffed animal. Jo giggled and he gave her a challenging look.

“What? It’s cute.” She said. "It's no surprise you're a cuddler."

“Well, maybe Fargo will give you a subscription to S.A.R.A.H.’s voyeur cam and you can hear my house moan, in girly Fargo voice, about  _ Dr. Stark  _ touching her.” Jack said and Fargo sank down into his chair. "Yeah, that need to stop too."

Jo took a step forward and pointed at the screen , “What the hell is that?”

Jack braced himself for the answer.  _ Please please don’t let me be doing something weird to Nathan in my sleep. Please please please.. _

“Rewind the footage.” Nathan demanded. “Ok, freeze it there.”

Jo raised her eyebrows as they watched a figure materialize by the bed. “ I guess that answers your question about ghosts.”

Fargo frowned. “That's weird, it disappeared.”

Jack leaned on the desk. He had watched plenty of surveillance footage in his life and he was trained to pick up on the slightest movement, the slightest difference, that indicated something had occurred. Hours upon hours of footage always came down from a flicker of a change to narrow down the timeline. “Move it forward, slowly.”

Nathan could hear the confidence in Jack’s voice. He had experience with this even if nobody expected him to. He amazed him. Nobody would have arrived at this issue as quickly as Jack did. Even he waved it off as a freak occurrence. God he loved him and hoped he could convince him to stay in Eureka. they woudl be an amazing team as well. “It's probably moving too fast for our eyes to pick it up.”

“ There! Back up.” Jack grinned. “There's our ghost.”

“ Is that who I think it is?” Jo asked. The image on the screen was none other than Walter Perkins.

Fargo gasped in awe. “Unreal.”

Jack wiped the goo off on Fargo’s shoulder while the guy was distracted. “Now we just got to find him again.”

Jo couldn’t help but ask, “And how are we supposed to do that?”

Jack thought about it. Electronic. There had to be some way to scan for electronic weirdness. He looked to Nathan, knowing he would know about all the projects in Eureka. “That remote of Henry’s? The one that he used to exhume the body. That's for scanning electronic frequencies, right?”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. Damn Jack was good. “Yeah.”

“Do ghosts have frequencies?” Jack asked and Nathan gave him the look of ‘I guess we’ll find out’ right before they all moved for the door.

“I’ll just stay here then.” Fargo said.

Jack turned and said, “Yeah Shaggy, because you need to turn off the cameras in my bedroom. Don’t delete that video yet, we might need it.”

“Yeah..” Fargo said with a grin and a nod.

“Not like that! For evidence!” Jack growled. This damned town was really testing him. 


	8. Frequency

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 8

**Frequency**

* * *

Henry wasn’t sure what he was more impressed with: Jack’s ability to utilize the people in Eureka to solve a case or the fact that Nathan was accompanying him. Perhaps they both fell into the same category as Nathan was a valuable resource. He knew Nathan well enough to see this was about being supportive and the issue was a low priority on his to-do list, that impressed him immensely. “I modified the device to search for that frequency which disrupted the electronics in all the instances you listed. Any further adjustments can be made by Nathan in the field.”

Nathan raised an eyebrow as Henry handed the remote over to Jack. A year ago it would have bothered him to have Henry see right through him and his motives for accompanying Jack on this ghost hunt, but right now he appreciated it more than he could express. 

“Great!” Jack said and looked at the remote and didn’t have a clue how to use it. He turned around and handed it to Nathan. “Let’s go bust some ghosts.”

Nathan looked at the remote that appeared to be a re-purposed early cell phone and then gave Henry a brief flicker of a ‘thank you’ smile before following Jack back to his Jeep. He started to tinker with the settings to get a feel for it and got a little nostalgic. Henry had a way of crafting things that was uniquely him, he could always tell what his own mentor had a hand in creating. “This remote will basically ‘ping’ off the isolated frequency.”

“So like a game of hot/cold?” Jack asked. “It will tell us if we’re getting warmer or colder?”

“Yes.” Nathan said and got in the Jeep. 

“Great...so we need a place to start.” Jack said and thought about what he knew about Eureka and Walter Perkins. Which was very little. “Ok, so he’s been coming after you. Why?”

“I imagine he thinks I can help him.” Nathan offered. "Although you seem to think it's because he wants to get his hands on my body."

“So you knew him?” Jack asked. “You worked with him?”

“I criticized his work, pointed out the fallacies in his reasoning and threatened to shut him down.” Nathan said with a shrug. “Maybe there was something in what I said that made him revisit his formulas and research? I doubt it since he was working in his basement on the Tachyon Accelerator and used stolen Section 5 technology to make it work.”

Jack frowned. “Any connection to you looking over his project and Kevin being able to complete his formulas?”

“Kevin’s brilliant, he is more than capable of doing that on his own..” Nathan said and thought about his review of Perkin’s work. “The work I looked at was far from being usable. I didn’t share any of that with Kevin, it was Section 5. What Walter built was completely re-imagined to incorporate the technology he stole. Put him years ahead of where he would have been if he had to solve his problems himself.”

“So why take the risk?” Jack asked. “Is his job really worth it?”

“He made a family here, quite literally. If he left Eureka he would have been exposed.” 

“So we’re looking at the wrong motive. He’s not after you, he’s needing you to fix his problem.” Jack said. “He’s trying to save his family. With clone Susan dead and real Susan being pushed to take Brian away from Eureka….he’s trying to hold on to his family.”

“Seems to be a recurring theme, these days.” Nathan said and Jack gave him a soft, curious glance. It quickly turned into a more intense look.

“Allison’s still pushing Susan to take custody of Brian, right?”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

“So we’re going to the school first.” Jack said and put the Jeep in drive. “If he’s been unable to save himself and fix whatever he did, then he’s going to try to stay close to his family.”

“Ok.” Nathan said, not sure if that was Jack’s interpretation of their current marital woes or just his conclusion about the Perkins case. They drove in silence as they sped towards the school, Jack was clearly anxious about putting Zoe in the way of Walter’s ghost again. As they got closer the ‘ping’ on the remote became more frequent. “You’re getting warmer.”

“Kevin solved his formula, why wouldn’t he go to him?” Jack asked, not expecting Nathan to answer. He just needed to talk it out. “Kevin did his work better than he did, faster than he did. If he came after you because you had seen his work despite it being a year ago, why would he ignore the kid who saved the world from his work last week? Did he only become a ghost recently?” 

Nathan was already on it, calling Ally to check in on Kevin. “Hey Ally…”

Jack flipped the sirens off so Nathan could talk without the emergency noises in the background. He looked over at him as he groaned and rolled his eyes. A common reaction when talking with his ex.

“No, I haven’t talked to Susan. I understand you’re frustrated….” Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ally! I’m calling about Kevin. With all the electronic interference lately and him being more sensitive to disturbances like this, I wanted to make sure he was doing OK.”

Jack gripped the steering wheel, feeling like something was off just by the way Nathan’s breathing changed.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the nightmares?” Nathan asked then gritted his teeth. “Why? Because he’s my son!"

Jack flipped the lights on and then pressed the accelerator pedal down to the floor. The remote was blipping even louder now and he knew they were going the right way. 

“Yeah, Jack and I are heading to the school right now. Stay put. We’ll talk about this later.” Nathan said and hung up and had to take a minute to get his anger under control. “Kevin had a bad dream last night. He drew a picture of a static looking figure, broke all his pencils doing so. I’d say it's a good bet that Walter tried to contact him as well but Kevin responded poorly.”

“So he came into our house to wake you.” Jack said. "And S.A.R.A.H. reacted poorly to his energy."

“He’s probably been trying to figure this out on his own the last week.” Nathan offered as he considered the timeline. He looked at the remote, now blinking with lights as well as increasing it’s alarm indicating they were getting closer to the disturbance. “He’s more than likely aware that the state he is in is unstable. He’s acting while he still can.”

“So he’s able to shock people because he’s….”

“Getting wore. Whatever he did isn’t just a frequency disturbance, it probably tampered with space-time since it was a tachyon accelerator explosion. What we’re seeing is the time stream trying to correct something that isn’t supposed to be there, like a splinter that festers and needs to be expelled.”

“Oh, that’s great.” Jack said. 

“Just another day in Eureka.” Nathan said and Jack looked at him mortified.

“So this can get worse?”

“Oh, absolutely.” 

“Are we talking about Walter or…the stuff that happens in this town?” Jack asked. Now the calm and practiced approach that Cobb and Jo took to last week's world-ending issue made _so_ much more sense. It was standard operating procedure. That was just great!

“Both.” Nathan replied honestly. “Walter’s situation is just a taste of what happens in this town. Your ability to get ahead of the problem before it became a problem, well….I hope you reconsider the job here. Eureka needs you.”

“You run the crazy science place!!” Jack exclaimed. “You are the one who needs to stop people from becoming splinters in time and destroying the universe...or making babies with clone wives or….building Stargates in their basement! That’s your job, isn't it?”

“What Walter created, albeit by accident, is a scientific advancement that will change what we know about quantum physics. “ Nathan informed him. “These risks yield incredible results. That is what my job is, to get these results.”

“This is what you meant when you said I would hate your job.”

“Oh, I meant that I threaten to fire people if they don’t get the results, which increases the risks they take which in turn…”

“Ok, stop.” Jack said as they pulled into the school parking lot.. “We will talk about this tonight. First we stop Walter.”

Nathan looked at him as he parked the Jeep. Waiting for the realization to hit….

“Um...so how do we stop Walter?” Jack asked.


	9. Family Time

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 9

**Family time**

* * *

Nathan stood in front of the containment chamber that now housed Walter Perkins and watched him. He ordered the unit delivered to the school as soon as the parked, realizing they hadn't planned for what to do when they actually found their ghost. He figured it would be the best way to trap Walter without harming anyone, even if he really hadn't been sure it would help him. Henry circled the containment unit now, checking readings and giggling with excitement at the incredible scientific discovery and the fact any of this was working. Beverly was kneeling in front of the unit, talking to Walter. She had arrived to help debrief Walter and keep confidential information from coming out in an interview with local law enforcement. 

Beverly finished her interview and pulled Nathan aside. "He doesn't seem to remember much before the accident. But we may never know exactly what happened."

"How convenient for him." Nathan said and turned to look at the man flickered in and out of view within the chamber. His memory might come back when he was presented with a lab in Section 5 and the option to do the research or be the research.

"Speaking of convenience, my office is open whenever _you_ need me.". Beverly said and looked over at Sheriff Carter as he did his best to contain the crowd and answer questions from the Tesla school newspaper reporters. 

Nathan glanced down at her and scowled. "Thanks. Like this situation, I think we have it under control."

"That wasn't an offer, Nathan.". Beverly countered. "It's an order from the D.O.D"

"Of course it is.". He said and rolled his eyes. Just what he needed, employer-mandated couples therapy. Jack was going to lose it over that.

Susan Perkins approached the huge cylindrical containment unit and stared at her husband. He pressed his hands on the glass and looked out at her. He mouthed the words 'I'm sorry.' with tears in his eyes. She turned to Henry and asked,  " I, I don't understand how this happened."

Henry stopped taking readings and explained, "Walter created a machine that caused a temporal implosion. When he tried to fix it, there was a cascading effect, and he got caught in the blast."

Susan shook her head and admitted," That sounds like Walter."

Henry smiled at the readings because he could believe this was working or that it was even happening. This situation was simply incredible, both Walter’s predicament and the fact that Jack arrived at this conclusion from a few electrical anomalies categorized as ‘ghost activity’. "Well, we all assumed that he was dead. It turned out he'd just been shunted off into another time stream. Essentially stuck between seconds. This device should stabilize him."

“Why?” Susan asked her estranged husband as she pressed her hand on the glass.

“I missed you.” Walter replied. 

Brian hugged Susan. “I missed you, too, Mom.”

Susan looked down at the child she had only just met and then back to the husband she hadn’t seen in years. This situation was far from OK, she didn’t know if she could forgive Walter for recreating her or having a child with a clone Susan or the obvious safety precautions he ignored with his research. For now, she chose to simply work through the moment. “I know you did.”

“Can we all go home now?” Brian asked.

Jack walked up to Nathan and Beverly smiled at him before walking over to talk with the Perkins. He asked, “ So what happens now?”

“Temporal rehabilitation.” Nathan answered.

“ What?”

Nathan softly explained, “Think physical therapy, but a whole lot more expensive.”

Jack nodded. How many damned people did they bring back from the dead in Eureka that they had an on-call ‘temporal rehabilitation chamber’ ready to roll like an ambulance? “Oh. I was talking about Susan. You think she's gonna stay?”

“For Brian's sake, probably.” Nathan answered. 

Jack chuckled. “Yeah. Wow. I thought our family was dysfunctional.”

Nathan smiled and realized the happy reunited family moment was probably the best time to get a few things out of the way with Jack. “Can I have a word with you? In private?”

Jack nodded and followed him to the other side of the school gym. "Just another day in Eureka, huh?”

“What Walter did was stumble onto a breakthrough that will keep the threat of his redaction at bay for years.” Nathan replied. 

Jack straightened up. “Oh, so this isn’t about having a heart-to-heart about how much you missed me. It’s about you asking me to not arrest Walter.”

“I’m not asking.” Nathan replied as nicely as he could. “Eureka is a company town and it plays by company rules. What Walter achieved is going to need to be studied.”

“He stole Section 5 stuff, blew up his basement, became a ghost, assaulted people with static electricity, cloned a wife, created a half-clone child, almost ended the world _twice_ and the investigation into dead Susan is still pending.” Jack informed him. “And you want me, as Sheriff, to not arrest him because his Stargate technology is pretty cool?”

“It’s how Eureka works.” Nathan said and Jack twitched a little. “And the preferential treatment I have been showing you has to end now.”

“What!?” Jack asked, half laughing. 

“I would never help with an investigation like this, not until it was critical.” Nathan admitted. He was trying to keep his tone soft instead of his usual cold or sarcastic way of discussing work with everyone else. “Jack, I have to start doing my job.”

“Except that to do your job, you’re telling me I can’t do mine.” Jack said. “So we’re back to your job being more important than mine?”

Nathan could hear in Jack’s tone he wasn’t upset, he was simply asking. “In Eureka, science is more important than anything. It’s why the town exists. Anywhere else, this would have never happened. An accident opened up a whole new world for us to study.”

Jack could tell from the way Nathan wasn’t looking at him and was playing with his hands that he took no pleasure in this conversation. “You really thought I’d like it here?”

“I didn’t say it would be easy, I said it’s probably the one place we can exist together.” Nathan looked at him. “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, that it would be a fight from the beginning. It’s going to get harder, especially with the fact that the D.O.D. is ordering us to have marriage counselling and you’re going to have to complete your paperwork on insurance and get a physical done.”

Somehow that made Jack smile, because Nathan knew him well enough to know that he was going to hate that idea and avoid it at all costs. He heard it in his voice, fear that it would set him off. Instead he replied, “Not if they can’t catch me. My investigation into the death of Susan Perkins is far from over.”

“You’re going to stay?” Nathan asked, genuinely surprised. He expected Jack to quit on the spot and drag Zoe out of school and be done with it all. "And that investigation is closed because killing a clone has already been ruled legal."

“I’m going to give it a try.” Jack sighed. They ruled it legal which meant they had precedent, which meant had killed a lot of clones already. This place was unreal. “You’re being really honest and warning me about what’s coming, you know I’m going to react poorly. It’s oddly sweet that you’re trying to act as a buffer, but all of this is no different than what I deal with as a Marshall. Jurisdiction battles, psych reviews or just Abby, and H.R. demanding I review my benefits package. It’s not your fault.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“My kid ran away to be with us. She pulled some super shady shit to land us here. She’s living in a tiny town and taking college level courses just to keep us here. “ Jack put his hands in his pockets. “My husband did the same thing. So maybe it’s not the job I want but I’m willing to try to make it work.”

“So…”

“Dinner tonight. Be on time.” Jack said. “S.A.R.A.H. is not so understanding.”

“Ok.”

“Then maybe dessert at your place?” Jack asked. “I want to use a shower with water. I’d like to talk this out without my kid or house listening in. I also really miss you and if Beverly asks me again if our marriage is in trouble because of the sex and lack of experimentation I might just jump you on her couch and make sure I _never_ hear that question again.” 

“What?” Nathan asked and saw Jack smile and back away from him. 

“Don’t be late.” 

Nathan stood there a little surprised by this turn of events but impressed none-the less. Impressed with Jack to put aside his hurt and see the situation for what it was. He wondered if the day of working together had something to do with it. He looked over at the Perkins family following the stabilization device as the GD crew towed it out of the gym. Susan had her arm around Brian and her hand on the glass of the chamber to ‘hold’ Walter’s hand. Perhaps their situation put things in perspective? Did Jack expect him to blow up some Section 5 project in an attempt to cope with loss of his family?

His eyes returned to Jack as he took care of the crowds of students filing back in to school, students who were taking note of the equipment and people present so they could see if there was something they could use for their Science Fair project. Jack waved at Zoe and she ran over to make sure he was OK and get some inside info to make her first day at school go better. Then he turned to see Allison waiting at the door with a smile on her face as Susan escorted Brian out of the gym. It was time to get back to work and finish things up before he was late for dinner and ruined his chances to start to repair the trust he had destroyed. 


	10. Damage Control

_Dissolved_

Chapter 10

**Damage Control**

* * *

Jack went back to his office to figure out how to file a report on this and Jo was hardly helpful. He finally gave in and asked for help. “OK, so how do you write a report on something that makes no sense and didn’t really happen because there is no evidence and the perp just got dragged back to GD in a tank?”

Jo leaned back in her chair and said. “Cobb used to report everything to the D.O.D.”

Jack looked up at her. “Implying I’m giving the head of GD preferential treatment?”

“Your words, not mine.”

“Jo.” Jack said and rubbed his eyes. “I didn’t ask to be sent here. I didn’t want to steal the job out from under you that you have been working for. I don’t have a lot of answers right now but I can tell you I’m not giving Nathan what he wants just because we’re married.”

“Last week you were ready to arrest the whole town, this week you are just fine with letting that same scientist go back to work.” Jo shrugged. “Action speak louder than words. Don’t worry, it wasn’t any better when Allison was married to him.”

“Is this about me or Nathan?” Jack asked and let his hand fall from his face. “I’m willing to give this job and town a chance, but to do that I have to know my deputy has my back.”

“Eureka is a huge opportunity and you shouldn’t have to be won over by the job in order to want it.”

“OK.” Jack said. 

“You wanted to get back to your normal job yesterday, you said so yourself. You lost all your stuff, blew up on Stark and demanded a divorce and within 24hr hours you’re here trying to make the best of it. So maybe to have your back I need to know you’re not going to be spinning around at the whim of your husband.”

“So it’s about Nathan.” Jack answered his own question.

“GD answers to him. His security answers to him. This whole town is under his rule and laws mean nothing because what is best for Global is what goes. Stark tells his people to jump and they ask what trajectory.” Jo said and crossed her arms.

“So you guys have a history?” Jack asked.

“I’ve worked here during his last stay in Eureka.”

Jack bit his lip. “Did he really just….leave?”

“Yeah. He and Allison were at each other’s throats and the town suffered for it. He was taking it out on his people and they were scared shitless. Callister Raynes, his assistant, went from worshiping the ground he walked on to burning Stark’s lab down and leaving town. I’m surprised they didn’t throw a parade when Nathan took that transfer to D.C.”

Jack thought about that. “See, I’m not really getting that vibe. Just about everyone I deal with, including my talking house, seems like do still worship him.”

“Scientists…” She said and shook her head. “They get off on that brain of his. I think they get off on his power and confidence, certainly get off on looking at him…”

Jack frowned. “Not you too.”

“I have eyes, Carter.” Jo said and then shook her head. “However I also have a spine and I’d snap his if he ever talked to me like he talked to half of these people. He’s different now, though, with you he’s very patient and helpful. Well, for now.”

“Well, he told me that has to stop and I’m going to hate the guy he actually is.” Jack informed her. 

“And what do you think, because you don’t strike me as someone who listens very well to people who tell you what to do?”

Jack smiled at her. “I think I fell in love with the guy who was an arrogant ass who scared all the people in his path. We were working on the same team though, and his role was as an expert witness in a major country wide case I was working. He was brought in to basically make people cry on the stand and they deserved it.”

“What kind of expert witness?” Jo asked. _Finally, backstory!_

“He broke down the chemical components of the drugs this human trafficking ring was using. There was some kind of signature in the composition of the drug and also the stuff used to make it had a special molecular structure that indicated where it originated from. It was a joint task force, US Marshalls had to transport the witnesses that were in WITSEC and the indicted that were in prison to the trial.”

"So you met in court?”

“Yeah, and I’ve seen him be really condescending and arrogant. I’ve seen how he can cut through people with just words while looking like a GQ model on the stand. I’ve seen him passionate about his work. I….might have volunteered to be his protective detail because he was absolute savage to anyone around him and I didn’t mind. I get hard to deal with when I’m working a case, we all do. These were very bad people and they deserved to rot in hell and they had very good lawyers and were picking off witnesses like crazy. Stress was high, the case was high profile, I was glad he was on our side. I guess he liked having his nasty sarcastic comments thrown back at him because we reached an understanding fast. He also needed me to keep him alive so I guess he saw something in me that said I’d stop at nothing to keep him safe. We spent a few months together and we celebrated our victory in court by marching right back up the courthouse steps and getting married. I’ve seen him lost in his work, I’ve seen him infuriated by incompetence and people taking advantage of the system..by people cheating. I’ve seen him dig in and fight harder to make sure they don’t win. So...I think he’s scared of me leaving for the wrong reasons.”

“Ok, that’s...a way better story that I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting?”

“Met in a bar, went back to his place. Kept going back.”

“No, we met at work.” Jack said with a smile and toyed with his ring. “I was recently separated and Abby was cheating on me and my kid was running away….and I had to transport a pretty bad dude from a maximum security prison across the country by car. I wasn’t in a ‘hit on some random guy in a bar’ place. I never have been that guy, I’m too much of a cop to trust anyone who I haven’t checked for outstanding warrants.”

“So you actually know what you’re getting into.”

“With Nathan, yeah. I knew he was going to be a controlling I knew he was manipulative...I knew he was fucking brilliant and I never stood a chance against him. I loved watching him rip those guys apart on the stand. If we’re going to be honest about what gets me off: Justice served with a side of Stark sarcasm. It was beautiful. He’s beautiful. What the hell he is doing with me….I don;t know. I, however, definitely don’t know what I’m getting into with this town but I kinda want to find out. I want to see why he thinks this place is the best place on Earth. I trust his judgement even if I've questioned his actions.”

“You did some good work today.” Jo acknowledged. 

Jack grinned at her. “Look at you with your grudgingly admitted compliment!”

“I’m practicing for when I get your job.” She said and looked down at her paperwork. “You got ahead of this before it was a problem. Cobb and I would have let it blow up in Stark's face.”

“Probably literally.” Jack said and she nodded. “Well, for personal reasons I’m glad I was here. I’m pretty partial to that face.”

“As far as the report, I think ‘electrical anomaly’ will be sufficient.” She got back to her own work. “Messing with space time is a big no-no as far as the D.O.D. is concerned. Just file the undeading forms for both the Perkins, and leave it at that.”

Jack frowned. It hit him that this could have gone horribly wrong. If he wasn’t here, Nathan might have been electrocuted by a ghost or ended up being dissolved into space-time by some device when Walter tried to fix his broken Stargate with ghost static charge hands. “So, we look the other way on a lot?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” She rolled her pen between her fingers. “Things get resolved. They’re GD employees and it’s up to GD to determine their crimes, since they are on company time and using company stuff.”

“Does anyone hold GD accountable?”

“Oh yes.” She said. “The D.O.D. would be shutting that place down if they found out how much it cost them to keep operating. However, clever directors use a disaster like this and turn it into a new project that has promising applications for the military. It’s a balance between the costs of creating the technology and the costs of not having that tech for people like us in the field. These scientists know the risks and they accept them. We just make sure it doesn’t spill out of Global and into town.”

“Ah.” Jack said and saw what Nathan was warning him about now. “Damage control on all fronts.”

“Yes.”

Jack went back to writing his report using this new information. He worried now, not about falsifying documents or fudging reports, but about Nathan. He knew there was no way he could walk away from him and leave him in Eureka to be a mad scientist unchecked or the guy who would have to come in and save the day at the last second. If he left him here alone, he’d lose him. That was unacceptable. He was no longer worried about his own job, but his husband’s. 


	11. Your Place of Mine?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to keep going with this, episode by episode, as these two work through their issues and Eureka together. Thought about breaking it up into different stories but I think I need some day by day steps forward and this story works for that. Hope you all are staying safe out there.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 11

**Your Place or Mine**

* * *

  
  


Dinner went as well as it could. S.A.R.A.H was pleased that they arrived on time and Zoe was too excited when they announced they were leaving to go to Nathan’s place. Overall everyone seemed to be in a good mood except for Nathan who had barely touched his dinner. Jack assumed he was anxious about the coming conversation but he was way too curious to not ask. “What’s bothering you?”

Nathan pulled out his keys and opened up the front door to _his_ house. “You still see this as  _ my _ house.”

“I mean….yeah?” Jack said and shrugged. “I’m not living here.”

“And you don’t plan on it.”

“OK, that’s not what I meant by that.” Jack said and leaned against the door jam. “I mean….maybe a little, but not because it’s your place but because it’s really big and an absolute nightmare to keep secure. I can't just stop being a cop. Do you see all these windows? All these access doors? All the places in the landscaping a shooter could hide?”

Nathan waved his arm, both to welcome Jack into the house but to also illustrate a point. “I feel like this is a metaphor for us right now. That you’re at the threshold and unwilling to come inside.”

Jack took a step inside and waited for him to join him. In figuring out his own issues he had also hurt Nathan in the process. That had to end tonight. “I genuinely didn’t mean it that way.”

Nathan sighed and walked in. “I know. However it doesn’t solve the problem of us living in two different places, just like we have been the entire time. It doesn’t take away the fact that there is _literally_ a stack of papers titled 'Dissolution of Marriage' on the table right now. The progress we make doesn’t feel like progress at all. It only stops you from drifting farther away and not to bring you closer.”

“What the hell happened after you went back to work?” Jack asked and followed him into the kitchen where he saw the divorce papers on the table. "I thought we ended the case on good terms? We saved the day together!"

“I dealt with the Perkins' and their screwed up life and I felt like my life was more unstable than theirs. The one thing I wanted was to not empathize with them. I wanted to be back where we were when we first got married and I felt like everything was right in the world.” Nathan said. “Not this. Not like we're already separated, like we’ve always been separated. Like oil and water, you can shake it and unify the solution to the naked eye but each liquid remains intact. I hate this. I hate that I can have dinner with the family when allowed and we’ll head back to my house and talk and probably go back to our separate beds. We were never like this Jack, and I don’t want to start now. You’re not Ally and being back in Eureka and this fucking house reminds me about how lonely I was when I shouldn’t have been.”

“Ok.” Jack didn’t realize how close Nathan was to falling apart over this. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know.” Nathan said and reheated the apple pie pieces he got from Cafe Diem for their dessert. “I miss you. I can’t keep trying to win you over when we’re married. I can’t have those papers hanging over my head, like a guillotine if I say or do the wrong thing. I’m going to continually say the wrong thing and I want to still come home to you. I want to talk it out with that aggravating son of a bitch I married who kept asking me about the science behind my testimony, that guy who was immune to my anger and snide remarks and deflected them back onto me.”

“I thought...we had a good day?” Jack felt lost. He knew Nathan’s understanding side would eventually give way, like a landslide after heavy rains. He just wasn’t expecting it tonight.

“We had a great day.” Nathan said and leaned on the counter. “And at the end of it we still were going our separate ways and landing in either _your_ house or _my_ house instead of _ home _ .”

“OK. That we agree on. I shouldn't have said that earlier, it just seemed wrong to call this place a the Hitman Dream Home.” Jack grabbed the papers off the table and tossed them in the trash. “You’re right. Now I’m doing it to you, making this about yours and mine. We need to start working on ours from here forward.”

“Jack.” Nathan sighed as the microwave beeped. “You can’t just throw documents in the trash.”

“Well, it’s kind of late to call my lawyer. We’re on Pacific Time and he’s on the east coast.” 

Nathan laughed. “I meant you need to shred them for security reasons. Your signature is on them? God, how can you see the million and a half ways I can be shot or killed in this house and still have no regard for what you sign?”

“Oh.” Jack said and pulled them out of the trash. 

“They’re only papers.” Nathan said and pulled the pie out of the microwave and set them on the table. “Do you really want to stay with me because you want to start living our life? Or do you want me to stay with you so you can protect me from harm?”

“This town...isn’t where I want to be.” Jack said and put the papers back on the table and walked over and hugged his husband. “But I don’t want to be anywhere without you. Especially when you're in danger.”

“That’s...a very Carter answer.” Nathan pulled him into his arms and hugged him tight. “I don’t want to  _ only _ have you by my side when the world is ending or you think someone is trying to kill me. I also don’t want this to be temporary. If we fight, and we will, I need to know I can still come home to you and I don’t lose you because of some work decision I made.”

“You keep saying that I’m going to hate how you do your job and I’m beginning to wonder what you’re planning. We worked together, idiot. We fell in love working together.” Jack said and looked up at him. “And what do you mean by ' _ when  _ the world is ending'?

Nathan kissed him. “Didn’t happen, don’t worry about it.”

“It _ could have happened _ ?” Jack asked. “And now I  _ am  _ worried about it.”

“Can we talk instead about where we call home?”

“Eureka.” Jack answered. “I have it on good authority that it’s statistically the best place for our marriage to survive. I happen to know the guy who made that statement has a Nobel Prize for math and is a very reliable expert witness.”

“I meant, our house.” Nathan said as Jack hugged him tighter, they had both been starved for each other’s touch. He felt some of his stress melt away as they embraced. God he missed him.

“Does this house have an A.I. who might retaliate if we choose to live somewhere else?” Jack asked. 

“No, but it doesn’t sound like girly Fargo either or pop open it's access panels and tell me to 'have my way with her'.” Nathan said and kissed Jack’s head. “You’re already attached to S.A.R.A.H.”

“She has my favorite beer on tap and keeps an eye on my kid.” Jack looked up at him. “I thought you’d be happy that I appreciate an A.I. since that’s sort of your specialty?”

“I am. Which is why it’s so much harder to be apart.” Nathan admitted. "You're seeing my work come to life, even if it's doused in FargoFlavor, and you're embracing it with an open mind. It's what I wished for when I first got into robotics and artificial intelligence. I'm not there to see it though."

“Come home, then.” Jack said. “After we shower in the real water shower here and you can see me get jealous of my house hitting on you.”

“We can fix that this weekend.”

"S.A.R.A.H.'s fangirling over _Doctor Stark_ or my shitty shower?"

"Don't ever imitate girly Fargo voice again." Nathan said and winced. "I meant the shower."

“I can do plumbing.” Jack said. “I’m handy.”

"S.A.R.A.H. has a fission powered water heater.” Nathan informed him. “Why don’t you take care of the cold lines and I’ll handle the hot.”

“Cause you're hot?”

“Because I have the PhD to tinker with that kind of nuclear device.”

“You have a PhD for working on water heaters?” 

“Yes.” Nathan answered straight faced. “So do you want some luke-warm pie or do you want to get in the shower with me and get..wet?”

“I’d rather get dirty first.” Jack replied and pulled Nathan down into a kiss. “Because I’ve really missed you and I am so sick of everyone in this town eye-banging you when anything related to your body is my job." 

“Are we good then?” Nathan asked. “I can’t go back to wondering…”

Jack kissed him and started unbuttoning his shirt. “I’d be gone already if I could stand the thought of being without you. I can’t. You belong here and I belong with you so if it’s here...it’s here.”

“Just not  _ here  _ here because you already adopted your hostage-taking haunted house because she gives you beer and a ton of shit about your diet.”

“Let go of the house, Nathan.” Jack said and pushed him backwards towards the living room. “I let go of America for you, ‘Cause that was my job and now I’m in Mayberry. You can give up a couple thousand square feet of real estate.”

Nathan grinned at him, Jack was feeling up his abs. “I knew you’d like them.“

“Shut up, you’re still too skinny.” Jack said and pushed Nathan into the back of the couch and began kissing his chest and sinking lower to kiss and explore those really nice abs. "I do like them a lot though even if it's really unhealthy."

Nathan forgot about what he was going to say as Jack began to unbuckle his pants. Then he put his hand on Jack's to stop him. Speaking of unhelathy... "Are we avoiding our problems by having sex?"

"I think it makes us think clearer?" Jack said after unsuctioning his lips from Nathan's tight abdominal muscles. "Something about….stress relief? Um. Residual tension? Uh….a little help here? I'm not a doctor."

"It will only make me cling to you harder." Nathan admitted. "Which was enough to have you file for a divorce."

"I think we've talked about control issues more during sex then we have any other time." Jack said and raised his eyebrows. 

"What about not trusting me?"

"Also never really a problem in bed."

"Jack...." Nathan plead in the most serious whine he could manage while Jack was poised to take off his pants.

"I'm just saying we both have a hard time stepping outside our roles unless we've just done and begged for some shit we never would admit to wanting. " Jack said. "I think we'll just lie to ourselves and each other about everything until we're both lying somewhere with smiles on our faces because of something that felt so good we didn't care about ego or anything."

"Oh that's fucked up.". Nathan admitted. "But true."

"So..postpone our chat until we can't move?" Jack said. “Just embrace this really bad coping and avoidance mechanism and see what happens?” 

Nathan grinned, grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him off his knees. He kissed him and Jack wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling him as close as he could. He changed the tone of his voice when he asked, "Tell me what you want, Jack."


	12. Pillow Talk

Warning: the post-sex chapter.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 12

**Pillow Talk**

* * *

"I think if marriage counseling is mandatory we should tell Beverly we fucked til we were too tired to argue." Jack said as he laid sprawled out on Nathan's bed, too tired to move and too happy to want to go anywhere.

"Shrinks love to hear that post-coital internal reflection allowed for us to discuss our deep seated issues and needs." Nathan replied and rolled his head to look at Jack, no other part of his body was inclined to obey him at the moment. "It's definitely the diamond on the peak of Maslow's Pyramid of needs."

Jack snorted as Nathan managed to say that with a very professional tone. "She did ask me if my marriage problems were because of sex and lack of experimentation. I would love to tell her all about the experiments I've participated in with the one and only Dr. Nathan Stark."

"Do it." Nathan dared. 

"God no.". Jack said and started laughing. "I was married to a shrink! Do you really want to hear me analysed for what I just begged you to do to me? Hell, I don't even know what to call that other than 'wow'. I'll just file it under 'yes' and leave it at that."

"Might shatter her view on everything if I told her what I let you do.". Nathan stretched and smiled. "This was a good idea."

"I occasionally have them."

"I need a reminder of how relaxed I am with you to let go and enjoy sex like this." Nathan felt like the smile wouldn't go away as he thought about it. They really did have no qualms about enjoying themselves in bed. 

"Yeah. I needed the reminder that I really trust you and never question that." Jack rolled over on his side and looked at Nathan. "I might worry about you being a bad guy because you have the capacity to do terrible things, but I know you mean well. I know you weren't entirely selfish when you tried to get me reassigned to the Capital."

"Not entirely," Nathan admitted. " But it was mostly selfish. I didn't consider your feelings, I just wanted to rush things because I thought your job was our only barrier to being us. I didn't realize how many walls I put up for you to navigate around."

"We both had walls." Jack said and stares at the ceiling fan as it made a revolution. "Now it's time to figure out if the walls of a bunker are going to be good enough for you. This house means a lot more to you than just a place to live. It's prestigious and I'm sure people from the government are going to need to drive up to this huge house to take you seriously. Not some fallout shelter that talks and has a chain link fence full of poison ivy and a lawn full of radioactive dandelions."

"I don't let visitors come to my house." Nathan snorted at that idea. "They're horrible people and they will respect my space."

"So the house is…"

"Just my own ego." Nathan admitted. "Never was a home. Ally was only here long enough to get a house of her own when she got the D.O.D. liaison position. This house is representative of everything I couldn’t make work the first time."

"Oh."

"I'm genuinely OK with living in the bunker.” Nathan reached over and ran his finger along Jack’s jaw. “It's a dream of mine to see A.I. integrated into a home and the resident's accept her as part of their family."

"As in  _ S.A.R.A.H _ . or as in those wi-fi home center things that spy on you and report back to corporate headquarters about your purchase history?" Jack ran his fingers over Nathan’s outstretched arm, tracing the well defined muscles he loved to see when he rolled up his sleeves. 

"Both, really, if we're being honest.". Nathan said as Jack frowned at him. "I'd never let that spyware into my house but I do appreciate the constant feed of data it provides. S.A.R.A.H. is the opposite of that tech, she is loyal to her family. I'd love to watch her grow up."

"What are we going to do with your stuff?"

"Take what we want, leave the rest here. This house is the directors and will remain that way even if I don't live here. Your stuff will be here tomorrow, by the way. I had Fargo track it down. Or we can leave it all here and get something of our own?" Nathan shrugged. "Doesn't really seem to matter at the moment."

"What are the odds of four people agreeing on furniture?". Jack asked. 

Nathan smiled, S.A.R.A.H. was already people to him. "Not good."

"It's kinda wasteful to get more when we have too much.". Jack admitted. "The bunker isn't really big enough for some of your furniture and you're going to hate the stuff I had in my apartment."

"What about work?" Nathan asked.

"We have already worked together. We fell in love working together. I think I know what a bitch you are by now." Jack looked at him and smiled. "I like it. Don't take that to mean you can be an asshole and I'm going to like it, I don't think wormhole engineers like Walter should be scared into working faster. You scaring some drug cartel chemist and making him cry on the stand was _awesome_. Walter making me fill out two undeading forms is not cool."

"Eureka is..." Nathan didn’t even know how to explain how bad things might get on Jack’s end. 

"I already got the debrief from my Deputy. Great minds, great place to work, great advancements. Can't let the D.o.D find out how much gets destroyed in the process of that greatness. Your people play by GD rules, not anyone else’s. Well, just to let you know, your preferential treatment ended today too _Dr. Stark_."

"They're not going to appreciate you.” Nathan smiled as that got thrown back at him. “People here are about science and intelligence not common sense."

"Well it's a good thing I like being underestimated."

"What about our list of other issues?" Nathan took his hand back as he grudgingly addressed their personal problems that weren’t house or job related.

"The abandonment, entitlement and commitment issues?" Jack chirped.

"Sure.” Nathan wondered about Abby a lot. Jack was pretty quick to recite things that were clearly talked about before. 

"Time?". Jack asked. " I think those things need time? You can’t just stop a lifetime of issues from complicating things, but I like working them out with you. I want to work them out with you. " 

"Therapy?" Nathan asked . “Or sex? What are we referring to?”

"This is my therapy.” Jack admitted. “I talk with you more than I have with anyone. I feel like you aren't judging me. I care what you think.  I don't feel like I'm under attack because of something I'm feeling when we talk. I know you can tell when I'm hiding something and it forces me to play my hand. I'm not good at doing that yet. I'm used to having to hide so much."

"I tried to move you across the country and ruin your career instead of telling you I missed you and wanted you to live with me. I'm not exactly in a position to judge."

"Well..." Jack said. "I...never moved in with you and you pulled and I pushed and….we should have just fucked."

"Hmmm."

"Like that, did you?" Jack laughed. "Do you like how your simple husband just broke down our marriage issues into crude technology?"

"I did. It really boils it down to our control issues." Nathan considered that and maybe some day he'd apply that to his past relationships, but for now only Jack mattered.

"You just tell me when I can use those handcuffs…" Jack said and leaned over to kiss him, playfully running his hand up his arm and knowing Nathan was going to pull it back. 

"Not...ready for that yet." Nathan pulled his hand back and reached over with the other arm to pull Jack on top of him. He kissed him. "I am ready for a shower.”

“Me too.” Jack said and realized how sticky he was. “Oh man, we definitely need to get a real shower if we’re going to be fucking like this regularly.”

Nathan laughed as he rested his arm on Jack’s back and it almost slid off. “You're covered in lube. "

"Well, Mr. Grip Strength, you exploded the bottle with your excitement and repressed sexual needs." Jack said and Nathan smiled at him, a light and genuine smile. The world’s most beautiful man was his and he had to work on his own issues to make this work. He loved talking like this even if it was on topics he hated, he loved Nathan.

"Good thing we're leaving this bed here." Nathan reached for sheets and tried wiping Jack off.

"You're going to have to program S.A.R.A.H. to not CSI Eureka our sheets when she washes them." Jack said as he watched Nathan try to remove the solution from him with little success. 

"I'm going to have to reprogram a lot of things."

"Like what?!?" Jack asked as the sheet hit the floor.

"Nothing. I'll take care of it."

“Like what!?” Jack asked and pinned Nathan down. 

“She sent me a report of the times your heart rate elevated when looking or listening to me.”

“Well…”Jack put his chin on Nathan’s chest. “Where’s mine? She's my house.”

“Apparently you didn’t give her your email.”

“God.” Jack huffed. “She calls and texts me. I thought email would be too much.”

“Don't care what it said?”

“That I like you in the morning with stubble on your cheeks before you shave? That I love to hear you laugh about some homework Zoe has to do? That maybe I tackled you this morning and really enjoyed taking you down and grinding my hard-on into your ass cheeks?” Maybe enjoyed pinning you underneath me a lot more than I should have for the situation?”

“At least you’re aware of how bad you want me.”

“I tell you all the time, you ass.”

“My ego says I can never hear that enough.” Nathan said and kissed him lightly.

“What about me?” Jack asked. “Do I want to know when you’re excited? Is it when I put sensitive documents in the trash?”

“I like the new pants.” Nathan admitted. “They fit you better than that suit you wore way too much.”

“My generic Sheriff pants? They’re polyester!”

“I'm not wearing them.” Nathan grinned. “I also like them a lot better on my floor.”

“Listen, there is enough lube on me that even the power of water won’t wash it off. We shouldn’t waste it.” Jack said and traced Nathan's nipple with his finger. Wow. There was lube everywhere, the nipple was shimmering.

“Have you heard of a refractory period?”

“Have you heard of make up sex?

“”You’re needy.”

“ _ I’m _ needy?”

“You're also slimy.” Nathan said and pushed Jack off of him. “Get in the shower, please.”

“Fine, but if I wash off all this slime off you’re not going to have anything to work with.”

Nathan frowned as he looked at the broken bottle of lube on his nightstand. “This is also a harsh truth.”

Jack rolled off the bed and staggered when he hit the ground and almost fell over. Nathan laughed. He rolled his eyes and made his way to the master bath and the shower that sounded oh so damned good. Especially because Nathan was going to join him. He had to ask himself why he was so scared to commit to this when he was so comfortable, so happy with this man. 


	13. Just Another Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we roll into episode 2: Before I Forget

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 13

**Just Another Day**

* * *

Jack was savoring his morning coffee while Nathan finished getting ready for work. He was making an attempt to not look too happy, as Nathan had already accused him of ‘glowing’. Which was stupid. He didn’t ‘glow’.

Zoe bound down the stairs and put her backpack on the dining room chair. “Wow. You’re going to have to turn down that glow before you get to work or Jo is going to be teasing you all day.”

Jack put his coffee down and said, “I’m  _ not _ glowing and I don’t want to talk about the mood your Step-Dad puts me in.”

Zoe snorted. “I was up all night reading Shakespeare. I know you guys got in awfully late. I also know it went well or the diva wouldn't have been in the bathroom for half an hour this morning doing his hair.” 

“ Uh-huh.” Jack shook his head and ignored the implication she and S.A.R.A.H. talked about his love life. He hoped the novelty would wear off eventually and these awkward conversations would fade away. “You're really into the school play, huh?”

“Yeah, you know, um, I think drama club is really helping me find myself... emotionally.” Zoe flipped her hair. “Um, I feel like I'm  _ really _ starting to fit in.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “How many classes do you get to skip for rehearsal?”

“Last period every day, including geometry.” She said and then added, “ _ Love _ drama.”

“Don’t expect to skip geometry homework.“ Nathan said and came downstairs dressed for work. 

“Speaking of someone who loves the dramatic.” Jack said and Nathan gave him a half-hearted glare.

“I also appreciate being on time. If you want to get coffee before work _with me_ , you need to work on  _ my _ schedule.” Nathan held out his watch to show Jack. “Meaning, you need to be out the door in one minute.”

Jack looked down at his breakfast and frowned. “But S.A.R.A.H. made breakfast. Non-healthy breakfast. She let me have sausage? And poached eggs.”

“She’s using a phallic symbol via breakfast to tell you she knows we had sex last night.” Nathan said and watched Jack react to that.

Zoe closed her eyes. “Omg, S.A.R.A.H.!”

“S.A.R.A.H?” Jack exploded. “Why not, ‘Ewww Nathan that’s inappropriate for my teenage ears!’.. ‘Ewww, my Dads are not supposed to talk about things like that at breakfast or  _ ever _ ?”

“Because S.A.R.A.H. got the idea to celebrate from _ someone _ .” Nathan said and grabbed his briefcase. “Let’s go, Sheriff.”

“Hey!” Jack said and threw down his fork. “Is this what you meant about changing some of her code?”

“ _ Oh….can I look forward to having you look me over later tonight, Dr. Stark _ ?”

“Door, S.A.R.A.H.” Nathan said. “ _Now_ , Sheriff.” 

Jack looked up at the ceiling and thought about admonishing S.A.R.A.H. but chose to reply to Nathan instead. “Fine. You order coffee and I’ll meet you there after dropping off Zoe at school.” 

“It’s coffee. It needs to be hot and it takes seconds to serve.” Nathan said, held up his arm to show off his watch again and shook his head as he looked at Jack’s state of undress. “Nevermind. Zoe, I’ll drop you off at school and your father will try to order Vinspressos on time for my arrival.”

“No speeding!” Jack said and grabbed his shirt off the chair.

“Why not? The local smokey is busy with his smoked sausage when he’s supposed to be checking for smoking tires.” Zoe said and grabbed her bookbag and darted for the door. “Later, Dad!”

“Hey!” Jack screamed as the door shut. “Dammit. I hate how much alike they are.”

“ _ You seem to be a little sore this morning Sheriff. Perhaps you would like some NSAIDS to help you move a little better? _ ”

Jack was reluctant to move but he wasn’t going to discuss it with S.A.R.A.H. and her offer of god knows what. “Thanks, I better get going.”

“ _ Dinner tonight _ ?” 

“Yeah, I’ll call.”

“ _ Dessert? _ ”

“Yes.” Jack said sharply. Why did he want to live here again? “Nathan’s moving in.”

“ _ Ooohhh _ .” 

Jack saw the lights flicker to accompany that almost orgasmic sound coming from his house. He grabbed his gun and shirt as he found the motivation to shuffle out of his house and start his day.

* * *

Jack arrived too late to catch Nathan at Cafe Diem for coffee, which was no surprise since Nathan’s lead foot probably set a new land speed record between Tesla and GD. He thanked Vincent for the coffee that sat on the counter as a mocking reminder from his husband that he was too late for their morning date. Then he got a bonus box of some kind that Nathan had left for him as well. When he looked in the box he saw some kind of tentacle arm? “What the hell?” 

“It’s for Zoe’s play.” Vincent said. 

“Oh.” Jack said and put the tentacle arm back in the box. So maybe his mind went right into the gutter. He grabbed the box and Vince gave him a look that said he knew  _ exactly _ what gutter his mind dove into with that. He blushed, grabbed the box and his coffee and turned to leave. As he was leaving, Henry flagged him down.

“Jack! I’d like to introduce you to an old friend.” Henry said as he waved him down.

Jack noticed the smiles between Henry and this ‘old friend’ that said they were once way more than friends. Henry looked happy, happiest he’d ever seen him since meeting him. "Sure!"

“Kim Anderson, meet our new Sheriff and Dr. Stark’s better half, Jack Carter.” Henry said.

“Hello, Sheriff.” Kim said and held out her hand and the Sheriff juggled his coffee and a large box to shake it.

“Nice to meet you.” Jack said, shook her hand and a tentacle fell out of the box as he crushed the box under his arm. He quickly shoved it back in there when both geniuses looked at him funny. He was going to kill Nathan and Zoe if this was some kind of practical joke. Tentacle back in the box and out of view, he changed the topic. “Are you in town for a new job?”

“Sub-contract work, nothing permanent.” Kim said and then looked at the time. “And I should be getting up to GD for our preliminary test.”

“Well, good luck!” Jack said and she got up to leave and Henry gave her a hug. There was  _ definitely  _ something there. After she left , he walked outside with Henry and had to ask, “So...more than just friends I gather?”

“She’s married, Jack.” Henry then added, “And that was a long time ago.”

Jack nodded his understanding as they walked across the street and stopped in front of Henry’s tow truck. Jack almost dropped the box with Zoe’s costume and Henry ended up catching one of the tentacle arms. “It’s for the school play...I don’t know what seafood has to do with Shakespeare.”

“Oh, well that explains it. I look forward to seeing what Putman does with it. He’s quite the visionary.” 

“Yeah.” Jack didn’t want to ask who it explained anything as Henry slapped the tentacle arm on top of his box. “Well, have a good day.”

“You too Jack. I’m happy to hear you and Nathan are working on things.”

“He said something?” Jack asked, surprised. He didn’t get the feeling Nathan and Henry were close anymore.

“Small town.” Henry said as some passers by looked at the Sheriff and nodded appreciatively.

Jack narrowed his eyes at them. Was that about Nathan or the tentacles? “What does _that_ mean?”

“It means, good for you.” Henry said with a grin and slapped his arm. He got in his truck, started it and waved as he backed out of his spot. “See you later.”

“Oh Fargo, if you have recordings from last night I am going to buy tickets to your execution.” Jack said and hoped to God that there wasn’t some tabletop device named Dougie sitting in Nathan’s house that eavesdropped on conversations to help a kiss-ass assistant have the edge on pleasing his boss. Well, if that was the case, he got an earful of his boss being pleased last night because they were not quiet and he was sure it echoed throughout the house. This damned town...was going to test him. 


	14. Partners

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 14

**Partners**

* * *

Jack sighed and briskly walked into his office to avoid seeing the ‘looks’ people were giving him. He threw the costume box on his desk and the tentacle arms exploded out of it and went everywhere.

“Spicing things up with the husband already?” Jo asked as she came over and picked up a tentacle and grinned mischievously. “Got that ordered fast, didn’t you? Or was this the ‘stuff’ you were upset about the movers losing?”

“It’s Zoe’s school play costume!” Jack said and grabbed the arm back. “God dammit!”

“Right.” Jo said and Carter slapped her hand with the tentacle piece. She had to laugh.

Jack picked up the instructions which clearly stated ‘designs property of Putnum.’ “See?”

“Oh, well Putnum is a visionary.”

“Just like that you’re OK with it? You think some high school kid isn’t alluding to tentacle porn even if you instantly think your boss is into that?” Jack asked.

“Heard you and Stark had a few _hours_...layover at his house last night.” She shrugged. “Things happen. Sheriff in the streets, squid in the sheets.”

“Funny.” Jack said and could not determine if this was just her working with the material here or if Fargo really did listen into the lube fiasco.

She laughed. “OK OK, sorry. Your husband was not as flustered when he left it on the counter for you this morning. Seemed a little pissy actually, kept looking at his watch.”

“Did he get this much shit when he left the box there for me?”

“No.” She wondered what it would take for someone to question Nathan Stark about anything. 

“Yeah, because everyone was either accepting that it was some kind of costume or wanted him to use a box of three foot long tentacle dildos on them.”

Jo laughed. “The latter.”

“Not you too!” Jack was not expecting her to be that honest about it.

“I’m sorry, he’s just got that confidence about him that makes you think ‘Well, he knows what he’s doing and it’s probably going to be good’.” Jo shrugged.

“But not  _ me _ ? Everyone sees me with the same box and thinks ‘Oh, Sheriff Kinky can’t get enough of Dr. Stark and his already well documented over-sized anatomy which we all gawk at on our two year old calendar on the wall!" 

Jo burst out laughing. Partial because of what Carter said, mostly because he managed to sound like a girly Fargo while saying it. Then she almost wet her pants when she turned and saw Allison Blake standing in the office listening to Carter. She tried to hit Carter with a tentacle arm to shut him up, but swung and missed because she couldn’t breath.

Jack kept going, his S.A.R.A.H impersonation was pretty god for only knowing her a few days. "Good thing the invasive home wi-fi box overheard him talking dirty last night and ordered this fresh sex seafood overnighted to him for an ocean of orgasms later!”

“Beverly will be happy to hear he’s managed to open up and express his sexual needs with his new spouse.” Allison said and Carter almost jumped out of his skin. 

Jack spun around and threw the tentacle over his shoulder to hide it, then leaned on his desk which was still covered in them. Allison was smiling at him, kinda but not really amused. Almost jealous? Oh God, he was in the same town with his husband’s ex-wife, going to be forced to go to the same therapist that they went to and they  _ definitely _ talked about their sex issues without shame. Oh….she was not happy. “Hello!. Welcome to the Sheriff's office. How can I serve you today?”

Jo slid to the floor, crying. She pretended she was trying to pick things up but it was obvious she was almost dying of laughter. 

“You need to finish your H.R. paperwork. Namely your insurance.” Allison walked over and made a show of not knowing where to put the paperwork now that there were tentacles and a box covering the desk.

“Uh….that’s  _ your  _ job?” Jack asked. Seemed like it wouldn’t be. How could GD be such a great science place with daily mayhem and super secrets and not have a human resources department?

“The D.O.D. expects the paperwork to be completed prior to you being allowed to work. So yes, it’s my job because it was supposed to be done with your non-disclosure agreement but you were not going to be staying in Eureka when we completed that.” She said. “New employees answer to Washington until they are past their probationary period. I am the liaison to Washington. So yes, it's my job.”

Jack wasn’t sure if this was about insurance or sex with Nathan. He hoped he wasn’t still glowing, that would make this situation worse. He cleared his throat. “OK, you can just leave it and I’ll fill it out.”

“It requires a physical, unless you want to use Nathan’s insurance coverage instead of your own?” She asked. 

“Sure? No physical? I’ll be on his.” Jack said and Jo tugged on his pant leg. He hissed, “His  _ insurance _ ! Not talking about anything else. Easy girl!”

“His insurance is better.” Allison said matter-of-factly.

"Always is." Jack said and her eyes darkened a little. He didn't mean for that to be taken the wrong way!

“That’s not good leadership.” Jo said and whined. “Why would you just _take it_?”

“What?” Jack asked as she wiped tears away. She was still having a hard time talking due to finding the situation to be hilarious. Well, at least G.I. Josephina had a raunchy fun side to her. 

“Insurance!” She spat. “Why use that privilege of who you married when you have the option of lesser insurance that I have to have? What kind of leader would do that? I wouldn’t do that to you if I had your job.”

“Ok, now you’re being resentful.” Jack said as she stuck out her tongue at him. “Dammit. You’re not wrong. I should use my own insurance.”

“ _ That  _ requires a physical.” Allison repeated.

“I will get one from….my Doctor husband.” Jack said with a smile and that seemed to not amuse Allison as much as it amused Jo who started to giggle again about ‘playing doctor’ and ‘probes’ while tapping his leg and hip with a tentacle. 

“He’s not that kind of doctor.” Allison said and crossed her arms.

“Are you sure? I mean, he specializes in _everything_.” Jack could see on her face that this was the _one_ doctorate that Nathan ‘I got a Nobel for Math because it was Math itse;f was wrong and getting in the way of my Physics homework” Stark.’ 

“I’m sure.” She said. 

“And you are that kind of doctor?” Jack asked. 

“I was a medical doctor when Kevin was born and retained my license. So drop your pants.”

“What!?!” 

“I just want to get this over with, Carter.” Allison said and looked at her watch.

“I changed my mind. I want to talk it over with my spouse first. OK?” 

Allison rolled her eyes. “Fine. I expect an answer soon. Not having this paperwork done is a ding on my record.”

Jack nodded as she left. Jo pulled herself off the floor and he asked, “What the fuck was that about?”

“You glowing like you just had the best sex of your life while receiving a gift box of suction cup dildos at the local diner left for you by your smoking hot husband who was also in a very good mood this morning? Smiling and relaxed, even if he was making a show of pissed about you being late. The same husband who routinely dropped hints that his sex life with  _ her _ was lacking?”

“Not that I want to talk about this but…” Jack dropped his voice to a whisper. “Does she think I stole her husband from her?”

“He came back to Eureka and nobody knew he got remarried. I’m sure she was hoping for that make-up sex that you just got.”

“Shit!”

“They had issues.” Jo said. “They were both loud about their issues.”

“And she wants to give _me_ a physical? Why!? There have to be other doctors in Eureka!?” Jack asked and was glad Jo seemed to be on his side for once.

"No idea." Jo shrugged and handed him a tentacle. “Come on, I’ll help put the costume together.”

Jack took the H.R. paperwork and dropped it in his desk drawer before grabbing the instructions and accepting Jo’s help on this project. He wasn’t going to turn down the help or the opportunity to bond with her over this, as lewd as it might get. 


	15. Separate Roads

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 15

**Separate Roads**

* * *

  
  


“So insert alpha into omega…” Jack said and looked between the body of the costume and the tentacle in his hand and then back to the instructions. “Why couldn't they just use real letters? Why is everyone in this town obsessed with showing off how smart they are?”

“That’s Eureka for you, better get used to it.” Jo said and helped him find the parts he needed to make the connection. 

"Thanks for helping me with this." Jack said and realized this was a rare opportunity to bond with Jo. They really seemed to be outnumbered around here.

"My Mom used to make my costumes for me." Jo said with a fond smile. "It brings back memories."

"I didn't take you for a drama club kid." Jack said, genuinely surprised.

"Well, I didn't always want to be a commando when I grew up." Jo shot back, maybe too aggressively, she was surprised at herself for sharing.

"So when did you go from break a leg to actually breaking legs?" Jack asked, his tone more teasing but not cruel. She lightened up.

"Having fun at my expense now?" She asked.

"Oh come on." Jack said and got the tentacle fastened. " This is _nowhere_ near the razzing you gave me for this stuff."

"True." She said and shrugged. "So this is probably not how you expected to spend your day?"

“Well, what I wasn’t expecting was the greatest, smartest town in the world to have to outsource projects.” Jack said and together they took a step back from the costume hanging on the coat rack and frowned. Jack thought it looked like that purple Muppet thing from McDonalds mated with Chthulu but he wasn’t going to say it. “I met Kim Anderson this morning and she said she was doing subcontract work? That sounds like admitting defeat and also way too much paperwork.” 

  
  


“Why are you asking me? You’re married to the director of GD?”

“I’m trying to not rely on him for answers.” Jack said and went over to his desk to clean up all the pieces and parts that remained from the assembly process. There were a lot. That probably wasn’t good. “So who is Kim Anderson? Henry acts like she’s the lost love of his life.”

“She’s Jason Anderson’s wife, I’m pretty sure he’s aware there isn’t a chance for him there.” Jo informed him.

“Who’s Jason Anderson?”

“He’s the guy geniuses call into to finish up jobs they can’t do themselves.”

“So he’s here too? For some job?” Jack asked, trying to get a handle on the visitors he might have to keep track of.

“I assume he’s here to clean up a project that was left overdue by Warren King.” Jo said and started putting stuff in the box in order to hide everything they didn’t use. 

“I got the impression Allison and Dr. King were…. _a thing_?” 

“Like I said, Nathan and Allison had their issues.”

“Hmmm.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s just that she was fine with me when I was demanding a divorce and now I’m behind on paperwork and in violation of D.o.D. rules because I don’t have insurance? The day people come to town to clean up some project King neglected? Why not when Susan Perkins walked in here and was legally dead? Don’t you think that would have set off an alarm in her head that I didn’t fill out my paperwork?“

“I can’t answer that.” Jo said. Carter really did have a mind for investigative work but he was treading on thin ice with the people he was focusing on.

“I’m not trying to point a finger at her or say anything’s wrong…..I’m just a cop. It’s what I do.”

“I get it.” Jo said. “However you’re going to have to get used to a lot of your questions going unanswered. GD doesn’t like to share and they don’t have to.”

“Except when it comes to overdue projects. Then they call in some strangers to help.” Jack shook his head and waved it off. “Never mind. Nathan said he was going through Section 5 projects and auditing them all. He probably fired someone and their half-finished work is sitting on their desk and he found out it’s past due.”

“Nope.” Jo said. “We handle redactions. We have not escorted anyone out of town since Stark came back.”

Jack nodded and tried to not look into anything too much. He was new here and didn’t know how things worked yet. He’d just have to figure things out as he went and stop being so suspicious of everyone. The background checks and threatening paperwork should be enough to satisfy him that they took security seriously here. “Ok, I better get this costume to Zoe for rehearsal. Try to earn some points with my own kid since her Step-Dad is the one with the fast car and homework wizard skills and…. ability to be on time.”

Jo watched him take the costume off the coat rack and hug it to his chest to keep it from falling apart. She shook her head as he left, her mind trying to figure out how this image was going to work into this years charity calendar.

* * *

Nathan watched stoically as the Andersons made their way through their demonstration pre-checklist. This project was an absolute necessity in order to secure GD’s budget for next quarter, otherwise he was going to have to make some drastic cuts. He knew this project looked the most promising for winning over the Joint Chiefs and it would buy him time to reorganize and scrutinize Global and it’s staff. Unfortunately Warren King was too busy playing virtual reality games and ‘borrowing’ from Section 5 projects to care about pleasing the people who dictated their payroll. The power of the director position clearly went to his head and he felt invincible, or he simply was never cut out for administrative duty. None of that mattered right now, what mattered was being able to deliver something to the D.O.D. immediately to get them off his back.  Nathan watched as Jason pulled the trigger and started the test. The machine gun opened up on the mannequin with his promised special armor and appeared to do what it was supposed to do.

“Kinetic absorption complete. The protective energy conversion is holding.” Kim said enthusiastically as they passed the first part of the test. She nodded to her husband. Next step. “Napalm.”

Jason grinned and pulled the lever. It wasn’t long before sirens started going off and the suit burst into flames. He tried to not look lost, he tried to look like he knew exactly what could be wrong. Stark, however, rattled him a little and he showed more than he wanted.

Nathan sighed and shook his head. He knew Jason saw it, which was good, as he did it for his benefit.

“There’s a breakdown when the protective field tries to cross-convert thermal and kinetic energy.” Kim reported. 

Jason went with her to inspect the armor as soon as the techs put the fire out. He could feel Stark looming behind him with his disapproval. Any bullshit excuse he through out would be seen through by the famous scientist who specialized in damned-near everything. He chose to remain quiet and let Kim defend their project.

“The army was promised indestructible forcefield body armor based on your preliminary designs.” Nathan reminded him. “Field demonstration is tomorrow.”

“Even without the fix this could save hundreds, if not thousands of lives.” Kim said and went for the illustrative point. “Soldiers, police….”

Nathan shouldn’t have been surprised they knew his husband was a cop. He ignored Kim’s desperate attempt to salvage this, and with it, and her husband’s reputation. “The goal is to allow 12 men to be able to clear out an entire insurgent stronghold.”

Jason was about to say something and Stark cut him off.

“Army’s all stocked up on insurgent strongholds right now.” Nathan said dryly. “You get paid to produce results.”

“I get paid regardless.” Jason replied smugly.

Nathan gave him a cold ‘fuck you’ smile. “Field test is tomorrow, I know you won’t let me down.”

Jason ground his teeth as Stark left the room. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to figure out how to disperse his own angry energy. “I’m going for a drive, clear my head.”

“We can adjust the feedback loop…”

“Just…” Jason snapped angrily and then toned it back down. He needed her help. He couldn't burn that bridge. “I haven’t failed in 15 years and I’m not about to start now.”

Kim put her hands on her hips and watched him storm out, Henry walked right past him and came over to her. He must have been watching in the observation room.

“So who’s going to make the coffee?” He asked with a grin and saw Kim relax a little. Help was here.

* * *

Jack was trying to get to Tesla in time for Zoe’s lunch period which was kind of a stupid time in the morning for lunch. However it meant he could easily drop off the costume, be a hero, and turn around and make it back to town to be ready for lunch with Nathan. Things...could still work out for him today and he could salvage things. As he was about to pass a convertible with the top down, his radar announced ‘Approaching vehicle going 60 mph.’ and he had no choice but to hit the brakes, flip the sirens on and do a U-turn and give chase. 

“I have somewhere to be. Why does someone have to be _here_ right now?” He asked nobody in particular as he watched the car pull off onto the shoulder. He ran the plate before he got out of the Jeep and was no longer so pissed about the inconvenience. Apparently he was going to have a chance to meet Jason Anderson, and as he looked up at the head of hair in the passenger seat, he guessed 'a colleague'. He got out of the Jeep and approached the car. Surprise surprise, Beverly was the passenger. “Well, what do we have here?”

  
  


Beverly took off her sunglasses and leaned forward. “Sheriff, Dr. Anderson is under a great deal of stress. We’re in a dynamic therapy session.”

“I’ll bet you are.” Jack grinned. God, he was never going to go to a therapy session with her. Last thing he wanted was her to have anything on him or Nathan.

“This isn’t what you think, Sheriff.” Jason said, trying to maintain his cool. It didn’t help that he knew the Sheriff was Stark’s husband. Things could get back to Stark fast.

“My concern about this is you’re doing 60 in a 30 mph zone.” Jack said and smiled at them implying he wasn't dumb and was reading into all this _exactly_ as it was being presented.

“Then why don’t you just write me a ticket.” Jason offered. 

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.” Jack said then felt in his pockets and cursed not picking that up when he exited the Jeep. It was going to take some getting used to being a regular cop again. Of course it made him look inept, but what else was new? “I just.... gotta go get my ticket book.”

As Carter jogged back to his Jeep, Beverly looked at Jason and asked. “What are you waiting for?”

Jason nodded and grabbed the memory wiper out of his pocket, his nervousness abated as he realized he wasn’t going to have to answer for any of this. He calmly got out of the car and started walking towards the Jeep with Beverly as Carter looked around his Jeep for his ticket book. Some cop, couldn't even find his ticket book? Nathan clearly liked him for how well he fit into his pants.

“Hey!” Jack said as he caught movement out of his peripherals. “Get back in the car!”

Jason put up his hands in a show of non-aggression while Beverly took the lead. “I’m sorry, Sheriff, but we can’t be seen together.”

“Well you can be on your way.... just as soon as I find my ticket book.” Jack said as he opened the back door to see if that’s where it was kept. He laughed and found it. “Got it! Right….so back in your car.”

Jason felt the confidence now as Beverly clearly had his back. He felt the need to take out his anger at Stark’s condescending tone from the demo on someone and this smiley dope of cop seemed like a great way to utilize his ‘dynamic therapy’ time. He cockily replied, “Get back _in yours_.”

“Are we going to have _a problem_?” Jack asked and was amazed at the arrogance of the people here in Eureka! How exactly did this asshole think this confrontation was going to go down? Oh...he was going to catch hell from Nathan for throwing his special guest in jail but it was going to feel damned good. He smiled and grabbed his radio, “Jo, this is Carter. We’re going to need some backup on Old Post Road,  _ somebody  _ is in a lot of trouble.”

“ _ Be right there, over. _ ”


	16. Missing Link

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 16

**Missing Link**

* * *

  
  


Jack turned as he heard a car door slam and saw Jo had parked in the middle of the road and was coming towards him, hand on her gun. He blinked. His eyes hurt like he had been blinded by a really bright flashlight. He was holding his radio in his hand. He felt lost. Was this a dream?

"Carter, where's the perp?" Jo looked around. “You called me.”

Jack looked around and tried to get his bearings.  _ What the fuck just happened _ ? Instead of trying to play it off as a joke or dismiss the threat he chose to rely on her for help. It was just the two of them and he needed her to have his back. Something was wrong. “I can’t remember.”

"Carter, why did you call me if there is nobody here?" Jo asked again and looked at him search the scene and search his mind for answers.

Jack felt like he was a clueless time traveler. He had no idea how he got here or why he was standing in the middle of the road. "I uh...don't know."

"Is this some kind of joke?"

Jack looked at her and with all honesty said, "No, I really don't remember. Jo, I feel like someone took a part of my memories out of my head."

Jo took him by the arm and walked him back to his Jeep. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"OK, as much as I appreciate you believing me, I don't need you to treat me like some trauma victim." Jack said,

"Then how would you proceed if you were in my shoes?" Jo countered.

"I would treat you like a trauma victim." Jack admitted and then waved his hand when she looked at him concerned. "But this is Eureka, right? So there is some other sciency reason."

"Carter…concussion is a science term and a very real reason for short term memory loss. Did you have an accident?" Jo asked as she took a walk around the Jeep to check it for damage.

"What did I say when I called you?" Jack asked. “You said I called you.”

"You seemed kinda happy? Smug. Called for back up and practically sang 'someones in a lot of trouble.' and then I grabbed my keys to find out who the someone was."

"I didn't tell you who I pulled over?" Jack leaned on the roof of the Jeep. Dammit, he was amazing with details and to have a chunk of time taken from him like this was terrifying. 

"No. From as happy as you sounded I thought it was either Fargo or Allison."

"What?" Jack asked.

"Well everyone wants to throw Fargo in a cage at some point for something." Jo admitted. "And you seemed kinda suspicious of Allison this morning."

"I remember that!". Jack said as if it was a victory. “I don’t think I would be so excited about that though. I sure wouldn’t call for backup.”

“Maybe we should have you checked out?” Jo offered even though she knew Carter was going to tell her ‘no’.

“No. We have to figure this out.” Jack said. "Something is happening with time and we just brought back some guy from the dead who was stuck between seconds _yesterday_. Something could be still happening because of the Perkins incident. Right?"

Jo had to admit, it seemed more possible than Carter just losing the last fifteen minutes of memory. "You wouldn't have called me for backup if you didn't need it. I doubt you need it for a traffic stop."

"You're right." Jack said and was relieved she believed him. "So it had to be serious."

* * *

“What do you got?” Henry asked as he walked back and forth in front of the equation on the board and felt that rush of excitement of working with Kim again.

“You forgot the Hamiltonian.” Kim said and worked her way through Henry’s work.

“No I didn’t, keep going.” Henry said and felt like he was falling back in a rhythm despite it having been years since he worked with Kim.

“I got it.”

“Alright.” Henry summarized their progress. “So the electrodynamics work. The forcefield works. We just can’t finish the algorithm for the software to run the equation.”

Kim looked at it all and it just didn’t click. “Mmm-hmmm.”

“You know what?” Henry said with a smile. “It’s time for more coffee. Dive in.”

Kim shook her head. “There’s no point. Jason will solve it again. You’ll see.”

Henry made the coffee and wondered why he was so angry about that statement, so challenged by it. He wanted this victory and he began to ask himself why. Maybe Carter did see through him, perhaps he wanted to be the one to impress Kim this time. He tried to clear his head as he made the coffee, something simple. However Carter did manage to boil it all down to motive in a simple question and it was nagging at him. Why now? Why after all these years did he suddenly want to figure this out first?

* * *

Jason dropped off Beverly at the Bed and breakfast and sped back to GD, leaving Beverly with the task of ensuring that the new Sheriff didn’t follow a lead that lead back to him or her. That was easily solved with one phone call. She sat down on her porch and opened her cell. It rang a few times. The call recipient was clearly debating on whether or not he really wanted to answer, but she knew he would. He had to.

“ _Beverly, what a surprise._ ”

“Nathan, I think we need to set up a session for you and Jack this afternoon. I have an opening and I really would feel more comfortable getting the ball rolling on your couples therapy as soon as possible. Especially with the stresses of your new jobs.”

There was silence and she smiled to herself. Oh he was pissed at this power play. “ _Fine. Make it brief._ ”

“I will, I know you have a test tomorrow.” She said. “Your guests will be staying with me. I would like to give them my assurances at that time that you are following protocol and doing what the D.O.D. asks.”

“ _What time?_ ”

“After lunch?” She asked pleasantly. “Maybe 12:30?”

“ _I’ll tell Jack. I'll get back to you on time._ ” 

"That is the only openings I have. Please don't be late." She grinned as he hung up. This would give her a chance to make sure Jack remembered nothing about seeing her with Jason. Hopefully she could start planting seeds of doubt in their relationship, the last thing she needed in Eureka was the Director and Sheriff working together. She had plenty to work with on Nathan, thanks to years worth of sessions, but Jack remained an enigma. How he could end up married to Nathan Stark of all people was a mystery. How he end up in Eureka on a 'wrong turn' and stumbled into town was bothering her. If he hadn't, Warren King might still be head of GD and the information would still be filtering it's way to her. Now she was seeing all those leaks stopped up as Nathan went over Global with a scrutinizing eye. He wouldn't be easy to manipulate or get anything past, unless she played on his obvious emotional weakness. "Sorry Jack Carter, maybe you will get what you wanted after all: Divorce and your old job back."


	17. Time is an Illusion, Lunchtime Doubly So

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for bearing with the filler chapters when it's the weekend and I don't have a chance to watch the episode to quote it. :)

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 17

**Time is an Illusion, Lunchtime Doubly So**

* * *

“If I called you for backup…” Jack said as he walked circles in the road trying to retrace his steps that he didn’t remember. “Then I either saw some _thing_ or some _one_.”

“Are _you_ seeing ghosts now?” Jo asked. “Maybe you and Stark  _ are _ haunted.”

“It’s not like that.” Jack said and dismissed her observation that this was kinda similar to Nathan’s complaints about Ghost Walter. It was probably an attempt to get him to go to GD and find out he was electrolyte imbalanced and let him take his shirt off for Nathan. No. He was not in need of a doctor and he was onto something that he definitely wanted to investigate on his own. “I am parked here so it had to be something that was here.”

Jo nodded and leaned against the Jeep. “OK, I’ll play along. So you stopped someone? You told me ' _someone_ was in a lot of trouble', and were in a good mood about it. So you weren’t threatened. You called me to this location, which means the perp was stopped.”

Jack pointed to her. “Yes! And I would stop someone for a traffic violation! My ticket book!”

“Well if that’s going to be the answer we might as well start looking for ghosts.” She sighed. Carter was only here a week and totally lax about issuing tickets. She knew US Marshalls didn't do that kinda thing, he told her as much, but he still wrote more tickets than she ever did before coming to Eureka. He was an LA cop before becoming a Marshall. That was in his file. Must have been something else he forgot.

“I keep it in the Jeep.” Jack said and opened the door and looked around his front seat for it. Jo watched him and sighed heavily. “Hey! A little less commentary and little more help!”

Jo pushed herself off the Jeep and looked through the window into the back seat. She dryly announced, ”Eureka. There it is. Back seat, along with your trash.”

Jack crawled into his seat and reached around to get it from the inside, then his phone rang. He looked down at it and saw it was Nathan. He answered as he groaned to get in the back seat. “Hey!”

_ “Why do you sound….labored?” _

“I’m working?” Jack answered and grabbed his ticket book and backed out of the back seat the hard way. He sat down in the drivers seat once he got himself twisted around, book in one hand and phone held to his shoulder. “I didn’t mean I’m too busy to talk. Just getting some stuff out of the back seat.”

“ _ Finally taking out your trash before it becomes a biohazard _ ?”

“Funny.” Jack said and Jo tapped on the roof to indicate she was getting impatient with him. “So what’s up? You maybe..uh... lost track of time or something?” 

_ “No.” _

Jo leaned down to look at him and he wasn’t sure if that was the look of ‘I thought you weren’t cheating by asking him for help’ or the ‘clever Carter, way to throw a soft pitch and see what the offense has got.’ look. 

_ “Meet me at Cafe Diem in half an hour?”  _

He looked at his watch. “OK. It’s kinda early for me to be late for lunch.”

_"We didn't agree on a time."_

“That sounds like less of an invite to lunch and more an invite to tell me something I don’t want to hear.” Jack said as he heard the tension in Nathan’s voice.

_ “Well, be on time to find out.” _

“Yeah, that’s not really how a surprise is supposed to work.” Jack said and set his ticket book on his lap and tried to listen more closely to Nathan's words and dictation. Was he somewhere he couldn’t freely talk? He wouldn't eat lunch with him at all of he was mad about breakfast, he'd make him bring lunch to GD to apologize. So this was something else? “I’ll see you then.”

_ “Good.” _

Jack frowned as he hung up. Jo looked at him for explanation and he didn’t really have any. He hoped he didn’t forget something he was supposed to do for Nathan as well as this current fiasco with the mystery traffic stop. He put the phone down, he’d have time for that in half an hour. Best to work and not dwell on it, Nathan wasn’t going to cough up answers until he was ready. “So, ticket book?”

Jo watched as he opened it. First ticket looked like a bunch of notes on the Perkins case. The next one was a grocery list. She huffed in frustration and then he turned to the next and it was empty. “Great, so much for our only lead.”

Jack was about to close it but then he realized the tickets were out of sequence which lead him to notice a ticket and carbon copy had been ripped out. “Or _it is_ a lead. Look, a ticket and copy is missing. “

“Great!” She said. “Let’s get it to Henry so he can run….”

Jack grabbed a pencil and rubbed over the indentation on the next sheet.

“A pencil over it like it’s 1947.” Jo said and was kinda impressed it produced a result. 

“It worked.” Jack said and held up the evidence they had. Only three letters of a license plate. It was better than nothing. “OK, take this and I’ll go meet Nathan. See what you can come up with with these letters.”

“Three letters?” She scoffed. “Do you know how many possible combinations there are for plates…”

“Yes, I was a cop. I did take witness statements and most people only remember a few letters….” Jack snapped his fingers as he remembered something else. “Oh! I would have run plates!!!”

“Yeah I guess you are kinda suspicious about everyone here.” Jo was enjoying watching him work. It gave her a better feel for her boss and his way of doing things.

“You don’t?” Jack asked, surprised. Deputy 'Say OVER dammit!' Lupo seemed like a stickler for protocol.

“I make it my business to know everyone’s background. The kind of crimes these people commit, don’t get reported to anyone.”

“Good to know.” Jack said and leaned over and checked the police scanner and computer under his dashboard. It...didn't work. “Really? It’s glitching.”

“Electronic interference.” Jo said and whispered. “Like a ghost?”

“Or someone erased it.” Jack said and looked down at his ticket book. “Wiped my memory, stole the ticket and broke the computer to cover their tracks.”

“Why don’t you check with Stark and make sure Walter is still in his box and this isn't like Ghostbusters where the asshole guy lets all the ghosts out and someone gets turned into a dog?” She tapped his shoulder with the ticket book and he looked at her like he genuinely was sorry that he wasn’t able to give them anything to go on. He was amused with the movie reference so maybe they had something they could compare notes on eventually. She did feel bad, this town had a way of making the police look incompetent. “I’ll see what I can do with the plate number.”

“Thanks Jo.” He said and got his keys out and started the Jeep, half expecting the sirens and lights to go off like they had done the last time Walter’s ghost electric wreaked Havoc on Eureka. The Jeep just started right up, no issues. This...wasn’t the answer. Something else was going on here. However he needed to find out what Nathan needed before he followed this lead anywhere especially because his lead was probably a dead end. Something made him think the read lead lead straight to GD, even if he didn't see it yet.

“Hey Carter?”

He looked at her as she shut the car door for him and he hung his arm out the rolled down window. “Yeah?”

“Don’t forget my Vinspresso when you come back.”

“Thanks Jo.” He said and she walked back to her cruiser and he felt like he was gaining a supportive partner in not just work but in his rocky personal life. It was weird how, in his profession, they knew they had to have each other's backs no matter what the reason. He also knew she wanted gossip and right now the Carter-Stark shitshow was prime time TV. 

He just hoped it wasn’t  _ actually TV  _ and was going to make a point of asking Nathan about Fargo’s pet projects and surveillance. 

* * *

“Look, my Dad took my costume, for reasons I can’t possibly imagine, and I have no idea where he is!” Zoe plead as Putnam walked towards the stage in the school auditorum. “He called and said he was bringing it and then never showed up! It has to be some kind of police emergency.”

“Zoe, no. You don’t have your costume, you can’t rehearse. I must see my vision” Putnam said and announced. “Puck! Where is my Puck!?”

“I’m going to kill my father.” She said and ran her hand through her hair. She debated calling Nathan but things were still so new with him she didn’t know how far she could push her boundaries. Interrupting his work was probably a bad idea. Interrupting her Dad’s….well he owed her that.

“Speak!” Putnam demanded of his Puck who seemed to be nervous.

Zoe half listened to the bumbling fool who was cast as Puck. She knew she was lucky to get a part at all having just transferred here and the play being this weekend. However it seemed Putnam really was hard on the cast because the was already on a fifth recast for the lead. She kept jumping in as the moron forgot his lines and needed them spoon fed to him like he just got the part in fourth period and didn’t have time to memorize anything. Which, in his defense, was what happened but Tesla kids should be able to bullshit way better than this. Hell, the one thing she noticed already was that Tesla kids were too serious to really treat bullshitting like an art. Unlike her.

So when Puck found himself blasted up into the lighting via a jet-pack that hadn’t been re-calibrated for the new actor, Zoe seized the opportunity to get out of a Tentacle Grimace costume and right into the damned lead. No need to call Dad now and he totally deserved the rumors that were going to fly about the “costume” he was carrying around that his daughter never needed for the play.


	18. Distractions

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 18

**Distracted**

* * *

Jack parked his Jeep at the Sheriff’s department and walked across the street to Cafe Diem for his lunch date with Nathan, however on his way over he noticed a convertible double parked and cursed handing over his ticket book to Jo. He glanced at the plates, out of habit, and saw the first three letters of the plate number he wrote down- ‘NID’. He stopped and stared, trying to jog his memory and determine if this was the car he had stopped. He was about to call Jo when he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped back and put his hand on his gun. Then he saw who he was about to draw on. “Oh shit! Nathan, I’m sorry!”

“I was just going to ask if you were eyeballing a convertible.” Nathan put his hands up to plead innocence. “Wasn’t sure if the house was all you hated, I know you don’t like my car much either.”

“No.” Jack took his hand away from his gun and turned and pointed. “Car’s double parked.”

“OK.” Nathan said and tried to put the minor traffic violation and the overreaction together to explain why his husband almost pulled a gun on him. He was tense, maybe the return to traffic cop was causing some old memories to resurface? “It’s Jason Anderson’s. He must be getting coffee to keep his team up all night to fix his disaster of a project. I’ll introduce you.”

Jack glanced back at the car. He felt weird, like deja vu but not. Like he should know but didn’t have the ‘Oh shit, I’ve done this before’ freak out moment. This car had something to do with his memory loss. He just didn’t know how. Time to play it cool, see what he could learn. “Um, related to Kim Anderson? I met her this morning.”

“Her husband.” Nathan said and walked to the door of the cafe and held the door for Jack. 

Jack smiled at him and could see he was definitely picking up on how edgy he was. It was going to be hard to play it cool when Nathan read him like a book. “OK, let me tell him to move that thing and we can have lunch.”

Nathan walked to the table when Jason was sitting, the man was very relaxed for someone who just failed a test and didn't have a working model to present tomorrow. “Sheriff, meet Jason Anderson who will probably be moving that car very soon so he can get back to his project.”

Jack tried to smile, but Nathan’s passive-aggressive way of telling the guy he caught him taking a break was cutting into his interview time. “Hi. Your car is double parked. I know you’re not from around here, met your wife this morning, so I’ll let you go with a warning since I know stuff like this happens in the city. This however is small town Oregon so...gotta move it.”

“So sorry, Sheriff.” Jason said and smiled at him as he stood up. He wouldn’t be too smug with Stark here, but it was great to see him have no recollection of his face. “Just waiting on coffee for my team.”

“We have parking spaces for that.” Jack said and gestured with his hand. “White lines, painted in the street? Car goes between them?”

“Yes.” Jason said and saw his order was up. “Thanks for the information.”

Jack watched him leave and really wanted to call Jo and tell her to follow him, but it was possible she’d end up forgetting the event too. He let him go, he needed more to go on especially since Nathan was chasing him out of town before he could get in trouble. “Important project?”

Nathan led him over to a booth, unbuttoned his jacket and then sat down. “Yes. You can ticket him all you want when he’s leaving town. Considering the check I wrote to him, I wouldn't mind Eureka taking a little of that back.”

“Doesn’t seem like the type to pay tickets.” Jack said and sat down and looked at Nathan who was also not the type to pay tickets. “Anyhow, I don’t think you wanted to talk about penal code.”

Nathan looked up as Vincent came over for their order. Always the best with timing. “Two specials please.”

“Just a burger for me.” Jack said as Vincent tried to run away before he could change his order. “Anyhow, I’m sort of in the middle of something work related so…”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. “Wow. Already getting into it, I do love that about you. May I ask, who is on your radar?”

Jack twitched as the word ‘radar’ made him feel like it should remind him of something. Nathan caught on to that micro-expression. He tried to salvage it with the only idea that came to mind. “Is it possible Fargo …. might have heard us last night?”

“You were really loud. It’s a possibility.” Nathan said and leaned back in the booth and scrutinized Jack and his movements. What was really bothering him? It wasn't voyeur Fargo. "I am pretty sure he got the message about not recording us in the bunker but I'm assuming you were talking about my house."

“I mean with a device.” Jack said and grabbed the salt shaker. He wanted to ask him about time devices or memory removers, how the hell was he going to cleverly work that into conversation? “One of those home helper spy devices, the Eureka version of Alexa?”

“No, I have anti-surveillance technology in my house. Director’s house. Pretty secure.” Nathan narrowed his eyes as he played with the salt. “How much coffee have you had today?”

Jack slid the salt shaker back across the table and folded his hands and smiled at Nathan. “You wanted to see me about something? You were pretty vague. Did you want me to drink something else?”

Nathan relaxed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that call to come across so much like impending doom. I was just in a bad mood and pressed for time. I’m sorry.”

Well that was a good save. He felt a little bad about implying this meeting upset him enough to consider drinking but he knew Nathan was not shy about reaching for the Scotch when he got upset. He was so wound up over the memory loss he almost forgot about Nathan’s tone in that call. “So, are you going to keep me waiting for a little while longer or....?”

It was Nathan’s turn to fidget. He started to play with his watch. Food arrived and provided a distraction, but Jack immediately honed in on his nervous tick again when Vincent left. “Beverly wants us to see her immediately. Apparently she needs a session under her belt to prove to the D.o.D. she's taking our relationship and security risk seriously.”

“Oh.” Jack said. “That’s it? That’s what you were worried about?”

Nathan raised an eyebrow. “I know how much you hate therapy and therapists.”

“Well yeah, but give me some credit.” Jack said and laughed as he picked up his burger. “Almost 15 years married to one and I think I learned a thing or two about being evasive while under scrutiny.”

“Sorry I doubted you.” Nathan felt a little guilty for the build up now. He picked up his fork and dug into his salad.

“I thought you were going to get pissed at me for not wanting to be on your insurance.” Jack giggled.

“Why...wouldn’t you? Nathan didn't take a bite, his fork hovered in front of his mouth as he dared ask, “Have you _read_ through the insurance you’re offered for your position?”

“Just because yours is better, because your job is better, doesn't mean I can take it.” Jack bit into his burger and moaned. That was so good. After he finished chewing he noticed Nathan was still staring at him like he was an idiot. “Solidarity. Sheriff’s department is ride or die.”

“You could die.” Nathan said and put his fork down. “Your insurance is nowhere near the coverage you need to work in this town with what happens.”

“Then change it.” Jack said. "Get us better coverage."

“I’m not exactly in a position with the D.o.D. to ask for any more favors.” Nathan said and added. “Nor with the D.O.D. liaison.”

“She wants to give me a physical.” Jack said as Nathan finally started eating again. “Why?”

“You haven’t had a physical yet?” Nathan asked and once again hovered the fork in front of his mouth without taking a bite.

“This is weirdly domestic conversation wise.” Jack said. “Insurance and physicals. Therapy sessions. The sucky kind of adult conversations.”

“We have an appointment with Beverly right after lunch and you need to get that physical done immediately after that or you have no insurance.” Nathan said and finally took a bite.

“Are you going to lecture me about my taxes next?” Jack asked and drank some soda. Nathan was not amused. He was never amused with his lack of desire to be compliant on paperwork. 

“This is serious.” Nathan said and pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Fargo and have him put you on my insurance immediately.”

“No!” Jack said and wrapped his hand around Nathan’s. “I’ll do it later. Um...do we really have to see Beverly right after lunch? I have a few things I need to do.”

“Like what?”

“Sheriffing?” Jack answered and could tell Nathan was getting irritated by the way his schedule was getting rearranged. And how he was avoiding 'serious adulting'. “Not that I’m implying your job with your great benefits doesn’t have things you need to get back to. So, let’s change the subject before I piss you off. Um….how’s Walter doing? Still a ghost?””

Nathan huffed. Jack was trying….just not complying. He had to remember he could not control him or order him around. This was going to have to be something they figured out. Especially before their session with Beverly. “Yes. He’s in rehab for a while. He’s working while he’s getting back to corporeal form.”

“Cool.” Jack said. “So he remains in your custody then?”

“Thought we weren’t talking about work?”

“I have some paperwork to finish up. Just thought I’d ask.” Jack said. 

“Yes. He is in Section 5 working as an employee of Global Dynamics.” Nathan said and then added under his breath. “Good thing he has the insurance he does or he’d be buried by his debt way further than the six feet of dirt he was buried under in the cemetery.”

“Wow.” Jack said and laughed again. “You’re really mad about this.”

“It’s stupid.” Nathan said. “Please read what you are committing to this time and remember that it affects Zoe too.”

“Oh shit.” Jack said. and Nathan seemed to take that as a victory. Then he exclaimed, “Zoe’s costume! She’s going to kill me! She _should_ kill me.”

“Not before you choose your damned insurance!” Nathan watched him jump out of his seat and he grabbed him before he could dart out the door. “Beverly’s at 12:30,  _ don’t forget _ .” 

Jack leaned over and kissed him. He whispered, “I won’t. I won’t miss an opportunity to turn you on by showing you how evasive I can be in therapy.”

“Not...the healthiest attitude to the mandated session, but appreciated none-the-less.”

Jack smiled at him and kissed him again before bolting out of the Cafe to head over to his office to let Jo know about Jason Anderson before he went to Tesla to drop off the costume and then had to go to Beverly’s to get his head examined. Just another day...


	19. Time and Time Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if I'm behind on replying to comments but please know I appreciate them ALL. I look forward to the A03 emails even more these days, it's comforting to see the same names coming in everyday as I worry about everything that's going on in the world right now, and it's a way to know our little community here is still checking in. Anyhow, thank you guys. I absolutely love this fandom.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 19

**Time and Time Again**

* * *

“Oh, come on, we can crack this!” Henry said as he saw the frustration on Kim’s face. They had worked through most of the problems with the equation and were hung up on the final portion of the formula. He poured them both another cup of coffee and was determined to finish this before he had to make another pot.

“I’ve seen it a million times, Henry.” Kim sighed and took the cup and looked into it.. “It’s his gift. He just takes it all in and sees the answers. It’s amazing.”

Henry tilted his head. “You don’t sound amazed.”

“Well sometimes playing second fiddle can be a little tiring.” She admitted. She _should_ be proud, Jason was her husband, but she felt like he just didn’t support her as much as she supported him. It was a team effort, she shouldn’t be so upset about it. Without his solutions, all of her work would simply be incomplete. Nobody ever looked at the foundation of a house and fawned over it until the house was finished and the bones of it hidden from view. She felt like working with Henry was really making her issues with Jason come to light. Maybe it was just the tension of what could have been with Henry coupled with the stress of the present thanks to the armor job. Stark seemed to really shorten Jason’s fuse and unfortunately she got the brunt of it.

“You are not second _to anything_." Henry said and took their coffee cups and set them back on the counter, then returned to put a grease pen in her hand instead. “ _ We _ can solve this!”

“OK.” She said and smiled at him then felt like she had just looked into something really bright, bright enough to give her a headache. She rubbed her eyes, she must be stressed from too much coffee and too little sleep. When she opened them again she tried to focus on the equation again and it seemed out of focus. No...not out of focus, something was missing.

“I didn’t go for that long of a drive.” Jason announced as he entered. He walked in and saw the confusion on Henry and Kim’s faces as they tried to rationalize the loss of time but their brains couldn’t find the command path to access the memories. 

“We’ve pulled up all the research, I’ve double checked…” Henry started to say and felt like he forgot what he just did. Jason put his finger up to stop him as he took in the work written out on the board. Something didn’t feel right, Henry felt like there was a blank on the board that had been filed in, but for the life of him couldn’t say what should go there. 

“Well Henry got the force vectors, I‘d recognize that funky Russian math you use anywhere! It's like a fingerprint.” Jason said and tried not to drag this out too long. He had to be precise when he regurgitated the work on the board. He couldn't make a mistake in front of these two.

Henry smiled and leaned on the counter. He focused on Kim as Jason worked his magic. She didn’t look as happy as she should for Jason’s return and his inevitable 'save of the day'.

“All right.” Jason said and made a show of looking at it all. Then he bent down and spat out the section he memorized and erased a few minutes early. He scribbled out their work and exclaimed, “T. _That’s it!_ ”

Henry wished he could be excited, but he just couldn’t muster it. He rubbed his neck as he stared at it. “It works, you son of a..”

“You saved us again.” Kim said.

“You and Henry laid it all out. You solved the force field problem. I couldn't have done it without you.” Jason capped the pen and turned to look at them, they were not as enthusiastic as he would have liked, but they were tired from all the work they did without him.

Henry reached back on the counter and touched the hot plate of the coffee pot. He grabbed his hand back and looked at the empty pot and fixated on it. It was like an hourglass as he didn't make a habit of being a slave to a clock. He definitely remembered making more coffee for them. So where was it?

* * *

Jack made a show of getting in his Jeep until he saw Nathan’s car zip off in the direction of Beverly’s. Then he ran inside the Sheriff's department and screamed. “Jo! Check the plates on Jason Anderson! I bet they’re a match to the ticket!”

“Did Stark…” She wasn’t sure why he was so confident now. Or so hyper.

“No, he really won’t give me anything until I take his insurance.” Jack waved away that notion and then watched a grin form on her face.

“You two..” Jo said with a smile.

“Easy girl. It’s not kinky. It wasn’t  _ that kind _ of adult conversation.” Jack said and she shrugged. “However the kinky costume is still in the back of the Jeep.”

“You didn’t get it to Zoe?” Jo forgot about her teasing. “You were heading back to town I assumed you had just dropped it off?”

“Nope.” Jack put his hands on his hips. “Must have turned around on the road to chase down whoever I ticketed. I assumed I was on my way back too. Costume is still there so...I guess I didn't make it to Tesla yet. ”

“Maybe you should take his insurance, you’ll need it.” Jo said and went back to work on the computer.

“Yeah, she's going to kill me." Jack wished everything didn't conspire against him. Time, literally _time_ , was not on his side. Well, it's not like he was in the running for Father of the Year anyhow. "Do the plates match Jason Anderson?”

Jo looked it up. "The 'NID' portion could be three people, one of which is Jason. Tell me how you arrived at this, because we have _no_ evidence.”

“I felt it was weird this morning when I met Kim and found out she was married. She and Henry had some kind of magic, like that kind of chemistry that makes you look at people and see how much they love each other, and then you tell me this Jason guy is the ultimate fix-it genius. That he's her husband! Then I meet him because he’s double parked in front of Cafe Diem and I have to tell him to move his car. That does seem like the kind of guy I would ticket, a stranger driving a fast car who is cocky enough to get a coffee right after his project failed at GD and block the street to do so. Does that seem like the kind of guy anyone would choose over Henry?”

Jo shook her head. “Carter, you basically described _ your _ husband.”

“OK, well, this isn’t about me.” Jack said and walked back in forth in front of her desk. _His_ husband was probably speeding to get to Beverly's as they spoke. Not probably, he was. He was, because he knew that _he knew_ he would and that would ensure he tried to catch him doing it. _Dammit._

“And you’re not exactly who  _ anyone  _ thought Stark would pick either.” Jo continued.

“Back to the case.” Jack blurted out as he thought about the _theoretical_ smug smile on Nathan's face as he got pulled over for speeding and then proceeded to try to flirt his way out of a ticket. Or escalated things to get frisked or something distinctly bastard-like to undermine his authority and professionalism. 

“Why are you talking so fast? You're...so fidgety? How much coffee did you have?” Jo noticed he was moving a little quick, even for Carter.

“I have to get the costume to Zoe and get to Beverly’s for some counseling with Nathan. Like, five minutes ago. So I need to tell you this so someone else knows it in case my memory vanishes again.” Jack said, very fast and illustrating her point. If he were in her place he would have asked if he was on drugs.

“Ok.” She said. That made more sense than anything today. “Then I'll get straight to the point. How is he doing it? If it is Jason Anderson, how is he doing it and why?”

“I don’t know." Jack said.  "I need Henry.”

“You  _ need  _ to get to Zoe’s school with that costume and get to therapy with your husband.” Jo said sternly. “We have no leads and no crime. Don’t be the bad guy here.”

Jack sighed and nodded and ran for the door. He almost ran into Henry and couldn’t let the opportunity go. 

“Hey Jack.” Henry said and opened his mouth to say something but Jack seemed to be already talking.

He talked fast, needing to be too many places at once to really be polite. “Hey, I wanted to ask you about losing time...”

At the same time Henry talked over him and said “Have you had any reports about anyone who has lost time?”

Jo raised her eyebrows. Oh...Jack was screwed. He wasn’t making either of his appointments now.


	20. Any Minute Now

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 20

**Any Minute Now**

* * *

  
  


“So ten minutes?” Jack asked as he sat on Jo’s desk and she pulled up the recording of his call for backup. A call he didn't remember making. Note to self: they recorded  _ everything  _ around here. Even the Walkie-Talkies. Probably even every Nathan Stark sexual experience within city limits. Probably….well... he probably would like that.

Henry shrugged. “Maybe more. I was at Global Dynamics so it could have been Section five.”

“I was out on Old Post Road, so I doubt it.” Jack said then decided to pitch his theory to someone else. “Is it possible that we didn’t fix the Walter thing and there is a way we’d be losing time because of it? Like Walter was stuck between seconds and we yanked him out so time is bringing balance to the force by taking some time back? He’s in Section 5?”

Henry shook his head. “If that was possible, the universe would have already folded in on itself and we wouldn't have to worry about where our missing time was, because it would _cease to exist_.”

“Well, that’s something in the positive column? Universe is still here. I can check that off my safety checklist for the shift.” Jack said then moved to the uncomfortable question. “Um, I wrote someone a ticket this morning and the plates partially match Jason Anderson’s car.”

“Jason went for a drive.” Henry said, wishing he could not suspect his friend, but he already was uneasy about him. Jack only helped confirm something wasn't right. “He went for a drive  _ after _ his first demonstration literally blew up.”

“And I did pass a convertible on the way to your call.” Jo admitted now that she was looking at the vehicle data more closely. “I didn’t look at the driver.”

“Jason was there when I lost time.” Henry added. 

“Ok.“ Jack said and walked to the window to look at Cafe Diem and try to figure out how any of this connected. Henry and Jo talked back and forth about things she might be able to pull up on surveillance feeds but he needed to mentally walk through the evidence by himself. If Jason left GD, he could have been zipping along on Old Post Road by the time he got around to taking the costume to Tesla. But Jason didn’t lose time or else he would have been there with him when Jo arrived. So he could have done something to steal time from him because he was unaffected. Or he was just driving past them and didn’t notice the Sheriff frozen in the middle of the road, but odds were good it was Jason. His gut told him he was looking at the right guy. He had to laugh as he watched a convertible pull up and park parallel to the curb in a no parking zone, he was looking right at the guy now. “Are you serious?”

“What?” Henry asked and leaned over to look and see who it was. Jason. Without Kim. What a way to celebrate ‘his victory’, by leaving his wife to fix the armor for tomorrow' test. 

“OK, I really want this asshole to be the guy.” Jack said and Jo joined them

“Who?” Jo asked as neither of them wanted to elaborate and tell her what they were looking at. Then she saw how the convertible was parked and who was walking away from it. “Ok, me too. But we need proof.”

“Especially since he’s working on a very important project that is going to be presented tomorrow.” Henry said. “Nathan’s not going to appreciate another delay in this armor project, I’ve known him long enough to see he’s getting worried it won’t be ready before the deadline.”

“Yeah, I got that feeling from Nathan when he verbally ‘shooed’ him out of the cafe before I could get into it with him.” Jack said. Nathan needed this guy to finish the job he specifically brought him in for. Shit. He was really going to see how well they could separate work and personal life with this one. 

Jo tapped Carter’s shoulder with her pen. “Why don’t you let me handle this so you can get going?”

“No, we throw him in jail together. We don’t know what he has. I won’t let you go in without backup.” Jack said and as she nodded her understanding so he continued. “We get his device and then you guys can interrogate him while I get my stuff done. It will give Henry time to figure out what we’re dealing with. Cool?”

“Ok.” She said, kinda surprised.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Jack asked.

“I didn’t think you would be the type to let someone else do the interrogation.” She admitted. “Well, you weren’t two weeks ago when you were Marshall Carter.”

“I’m not.” He admitted. Yeah, he wasn’t the same guy that was here two weeks ago. “I just know his type and he is not going to appreciate being put on the back burner and not dealing with the guy in charge. People who double park and park in 'no parking zones' are entitled and think they are above the rules. Let him wait on me. Have your fun agitating him while he waits.”

* * *

“How do you feel about Jack arriving late to assert his dominance?”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Beverly, you’re going to have to do better than that.”

“You don’t see this as a power play, Nathan?” Beverly asked and waved at the empty spot on the couch. “You, the man who knows how to dominate a room with his presence? You, who make people wait in the cafeteria to find out if they still have jobs while you go play house with your new husband?”

Nathan smirked. “Had some complaints about that, did you?”

“I had to do multiple therapy sessions over the phone while you made them wait.” Beverly said coldly. “Your people skills still need work.”

“I played  _ with  _ my house, didn’t play house.” Nathan corrected her. “Fargo almost unleashed the second coming of B.R.A.D., I bet he failed to mention that in his therapy session.”

“You know he idolizes you.” Beverly said and Nathan rolled his eyes again. “While we wait on your husband, we should talk about the people who you left behind in Eureka. Let’s start with _why_ you left Eureka?”

“When I left, I left your jurisdiction.” Nathan licked his lips and folded his hands on his lap and settled in to take the brunt of her psychoanalyzing by himself. 

“You left a mess.” She corrected him. “A mess of your life that you didn’t want to clean up. What I see is that your only failures come from your personal life, your relationships, and you are more than aware of your weakness. Why would you bring Jack here to flaunt your newest troubled marriage in front of everyone unless you thought you could salvage it? Come out the hero. Finally achieve the one thing that has eluded you: a happy family. So, how is Jack Carter different from Allison Blake?”

“Well for one, he doesn’t seem to be able to tell time.” Nathan said and tried to maintain his cool, he knew Beverly wanted to see what happened when he lost his temper over Jack being late. However, if he was late, it was with good reason. Instead of getting mad, he’d keep her busy and antagonized her so she would focus exclusively on him. Jack wasn’t the only one who knew how to manipulate a therapist. 

* * *

“Table on the left.” Jo said as she went to unfasten the keeper on her holster.

“You good?” Jack asked and looked at Jo. 

“I’m good.” She said and realized at that moment she did trust Carter to have her back. They locked eyed and without words, they knew exactly what to do, how this would proceed, without saying a thing.

Jack walked in Cafe Diem after unsnapping the holster on his belt and allowing him to draw his gun quickly, if the situation called for it. So much for a quiet little small town. He walked around to the left side of Jason Anderson, Jo taking the opposite side of the table. Henry followed her, having insisted he be there to support them in case there was some 'device oriented expertise' he could offer. Jack didn’t expect Jason to be a major threat, but he always went into a situation like this prepared. They circled him and Jason knew what this was about immediately, so Jack put a hand on his shoulder and said, “You need to come with me.”

Jo watched Jason’s reaction and she knew instantly he was guilty: there was a look of disgust on his face, like this was just an inconvenience for him. Carter's profile was dead-on. As Carter put his hand on his shoulder, Jason pulled something out of his pocket which caused Henry to lunge forward past her, which in turn caused Jack to pull his gun. A shot was fired, then the world just went bright and froze in place.

* * *

Nathan was at the point of just glaring at Beverly and daring her to say another word about ending his marriage to Allison as soon as he found someone new he could  _ work _ with. ' _Work_ ' being the key word here, since all he did was _work_ and not make room for his family and relationships. _Work_ which brought him back to Eureka, and a job that he could do so much easier if someone he could manipulate was Sheriff. Oh...how wrong she was. He couldn’t even get his husband to show up for a session on time, how the hell was he going to help him rule GD like a tyrant?

“I think it’s probably time to call and find out where Sheriff Carter is.” Beverly said and tried to not show how uncomfortable she was with the look Nathan was giving her. A look that said he was a minute away from rolling up his sleeves and turning her observations around on her. She feared someone looking at her too closely, more than anything else in Eureka.

At that moment his phone rang. He knew if Jack was calling it wasn’t an apology, it was a reason he wasn’t going to make it. All that mattered right now was that this session was over. It was couples therapy and without the other half of his couple, he didn’t need to be sitting here. He looked down at his phone and frowned, it was Allison.

Then Beverly’s phone went off, right before her landline and her PDA, and they looked each other in the eye and realized something very bad had just happened just before they answered without asking each other’s permission to do so.


	21. Where Does the Time Go?

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 21

**Where does the time go?**

* * *

  
  


“Sorry Carter, I need to keep your badge and gun.” Allison said and crossed her arms as she stood by the door of the examination room. 

Jack kept staring at Henry’s arm, as if staring at the bandage and blood on his shirt was going to make the gunshot wound make any more sense. He did this?

“No!” Henry protested. “Whatever happened, it _wasn't_ Jack’s fault.”

”There is no way I could intentionally hurt Henry.” Jack said and wished he had an explanation for this, _ anything _ . However his mind was blank when he tried to recall teh event and there were no witness statements. 

“Protocol for discharging a weapon and injuring a civilian…”Allison said and Henry got upset, the look on his face enough to pause her mid-sentence..

Henry interrupted. “What does _your protocol_ say about the fact that nobody,  _ absolutely nobody, _ remembers what happened?

Jack looked away. He could only remember confusion and spots in his eyes and Jo saying ‘How could you shoot Henry?’ before focusing on the fact that he was holding his firearm. Then he smelled the gunpowder and knew it had been recently fired. He had been sluggish to respond to her question, as if his brain had to go around a roadblock to figure out what to do with a gun in his hand. He had  _ never _ been so irresponsible with a firearm in his life! Yet there he was holding it like a toy, standing there in a fog like it was a dream; but it wasn’t, and this nightmare, kept getting worse.

Allison turned and looked at Jo for an explanation. Did they not understand how serious this was?!

“I got nothing, and all the cafe witnesses are fuzzy.” Jo offered.

“Last thing I remember, I was getting out of my Jeep getting ready to go into Cafe Diem for lunch with Nathan...” Jack said and then a flutter of panic hit him. “Is Nathan, OK? Was he in the Cafe!?”

Allison just gave him a curt smile. He was definitely not OK, but physically he was unharmed. “He’s on his way.”

“Where was he?” Jack asked. “At Cafe Diem?”

“No.” Nathan said coldly and walked in the room and instantly surveyed the situation: Henry was shot, as Allison reported. Jack was here, confused but read to come over and check him for injury. Jo looked like she was struggling for answers as well. Allison was standing there waiting for him to start yelling and it was at that moment when he realized how different she and Jack were; Ally would have made this about him believing her, Jack was more concerned about his safety than repercussions.

“Nathan! You gotta help me, we gotta figure this out.” Jack said and waved at Henry and then waved his hands in the air to gesture he had no idea what ‘this’ entailed.

“Yes,  _ I  _ do need to figure it out.  _ You _ need to go home.” Nathan said and just pointed to the hallway and left the room. He waited for Jack to come join him and tried to figure out what the hell he was going to do here? His husband just shot his mentor, a man everyone knew he had a falling out with. Worse, nobody could explain anything. When Jack did join him he pulled him over to an empty examination room and shut the door. “What the hell is going on Jack? You shot Henry? This is a little bit extreme, don’t you think? Do you want to get fired or just avoid marriage counseling?”

“What?” Jack asked as Nathan walked away from him as soon as the door closed, running his hand through his hair in frustration. “Nathan, this is hardly the time to joke about therapy and I’m not trying to leave Eureka!”

“You don’t remember?” Nathan asked as Jack’s voice was pleading instead of defensive. It was his turn to be the protector, as Jack had been the one to come into this very room a few days ago worried for his life over a mere electrolyte imbalance. Worried enough to stop fighting and forget they had problems, and Nathan had to suppress the urge to get angry about this. “Half an hour ago we talked about an emergency appointment with Beverly. Over lunch. You were supposed to drop off Zoe’s costume and then meet me there.”

“I…I don’t remember that.” Jack saw him turn and watched his reaction: anger on his face was instantly replaced with concern. “Nathan, I swear to you I didn’t forget. I just….I don’t remember.”

Nathan came over and took his face in his hand and looked him in the eyes. “Do you remember almost drawing a gun on me? Because Jason Anderson was double-parked?”

“What!?!?!”

“You were on edge and I…” Nathan didn’t want to ask but he wanted to see how Jack would react. “I couldn’t help but wonder if you were having some issues being a regular cop again. Seemed like the reaction was a little overboard for traffic violation, and now you shoot Henry? Why were you even going for your gun  _ at all  _ today? It’s Eureka, not L.A.”

Jack felt overwhelmed with self-doubt as Nathan asked if he was having a mental breakdown over...a parking ticket? Nathan had seen him on edge, seen him in protective mode when every sound got his attention. When he was protecting Nathan, he had been that edgy guy whose hand was never far from his gun. Nathan was the only one here who knew that version of him and apparently this was something they needed to discuss at some point.  _ If  _ he could remember. “You think…”

“I’m asking Jack.” Nathan said softly. “Because I don’t know how hard it is for you to transition from who you were as a US Marshall to being a small town Sheriff. I didn’t consider that stress….”

“You really think I’m losing it?” Jack asked. He trusted Nathan, these weren’t accusations. Nathan was dealing in observations and known facts. He had doubts before anyone got shot.  _ Shit.  _

“Either that or you have a concussion. Or possibly some kind of dementia. You lost a portion of time, in which you shot Henry. Impaired judgement, forgetfulness.” Nathan stroked his cheek as he talked out the possible reasons for this symptom. “I don’t know what to think and neither do you.”

“I think I lost time.” Jack said and pushed away his hand. He didn’t need a scared husband Nathan right now, he needed pissed off scientist Nathan who could see through problems to the science behind it. “I think...someone took it from me. From all of us. How does all of Cafe Diem get sucked into my PTSD episode? Answer that? Collective dementia? Is that a Section 5 project?”

"Mmm...drugs?" Nathan said to himself. He could see Jack trying to put him back on track to solving the problem instead of worrying about the casualty. Oh, how far he had come. "You forgot our meeting with Beverly?”

“Well, I figured I might as well give us both a reason to seek counselling: Me for attempted murder and you for being married to some trigger happy cop.” Jack replied sarcastically. "And apparently I'm on drugs too and sharing it with people at Cafe Diem. Think I'm using something? Yes, Nathan, I'm snorting lines of coke with your scientists after lunch and the side effects are collective dementia."

“Good, you’re trying to start a fight to push me away because you can’t answer questions about yourself. There’s the husband I know and love, the guy who wanted to divorce me.” Nathan grabbed the portable MRI and went after him as he paced around the room. “Hold still.”

“Why?” Jack turned on him, maybe too aggressively. That was what Nathan was trying to do, push him. Push him and see if he would snap. Prove to them both he wouldn’t snap.

“So I can find out if your brain is damaged.” Nathan replied as soothingly as he could for a statement about brain damage. 

“So science can save the day but doesn’t cause it!?” Jack asked and was still conflicted on how he wanted to react to this. Nathan had answers, maybe answers he didn’t want to hear. No, he knew him better than anyone and he was doing this for a reason.  _ Think Jack, think about what you know instead of what you can’t remember. Stop being scared and lashing out. _

“What is the last thing you remember?”

“Getting ready to meet you at Cafe Diem for lunch, but instead I guess you were late and I took it out on Henry.”

“No, we had lunch. I was on time.” Nathan said and pushed him against the examination table and pressed the button on the MRI. “We talked about insurance and the meeting with Beverly.”

“We talked about _insurance_?" Jack scoffed and rolled his eyes as Nathan checked his little handheld thing for data. “Really? Are we that boring?”

“You are actively trying to avoid a physical, our therapist and choosing superior insurance coverage.” Nathan said and saw nothing concerning on the MRI. “You also thought Fargo recorded us having sex last night. I’d label that paranoia, but it’s Fargo and I get the feeling he tells Beverly more about his infatuation with me than I care to think about.”

“What else?” Jack asked as Nathan looked upset that his gadget didn’t give him answers.

"I want to draw blood. Check you for drugs." Nathan said and reached for the necessary equipment from a cart.

"I meant, what did we talk about, not what else can you do to me to prove to yourself I'm not losing it?" Jack asked as Nathan came back with stuff to draw blood. "Why stop at blood, why not just do the whole physical?"

“I’m not that kind of doctor.” Nathan said and set the collection tubes on the bed. “And you already agreed to take my insurance.”

“Bullshit.” Jack said and Nathan’s lips curled in a subtle smile. He was testing him. This was some kind of mental acuity test? OK, yes. He needed this right now. They both did. He needed Nathan and that realization took the edge off. He needed Nathan and he was here beside him when he needed him most. God, he loved this man. 

“You asked about Walter Perkins, at lunch.” Nathan said and that made Jack light up. He unbuttoned his cuff and rolled his sleeve up. "You changed the subject, so I knew you were fishing for information."

“Yeah. This is not the first time I lost time! I lost time out on Old Post Road earlier.” He watched Nathan tie a latex tube tourniquet around his upper arm. 

“When I called you and you were crawling around your back seat?” Nathan asked and put on gloves. “Make a fist, please.”

“Yes!” Jack said and snapped his fingers to try to jog a memory as Nathan used his finger to tap a vein. He made a fist, knowing he was getting a tap of impatience not some kind of venipuncture calibration. Nathan was pretty when he was focused like this. He could see why people would let a vampire suck them dry of blood if they looked like him. Well, enough of that train of thought or the blood was going to drain to somewhere way lower than his arm. “Umm...I stopped someone and Jo and I were trying to figure out who. I gave her my ticket book. I wanted to ask you if maybe Walter could be involved? Is it possible that we didn’t fix the Walter thing and there is a way we’d be losing time because of it? Like Walter was stuck between seconds and we yanked him out so time is bringing balance to the force by taking some time back?” 

“No.” Nathan said and tried to not make that sound so cold, Jack was just throwing out ideas. He didn’t realize how ludicrous it was and he was getting annoyed with trying to find a vein on a man who just never stopped moving. “If you don’t stop flailing around like a golden retriever, I’m calling Taggart to do the blood work. With your insurance, you probably would be better off being attended to by a vet.”

Jack pouted and Nathan hyper-extended his arm and cleaned it with an alcohol swab. His beautiful, worried husband looked at him as he waited for the alcohol to dry. Apparently he could go back to asking questions now that he just got scolded to ‘sit and stay’. “So there isn’t some kind of wormhole explanation for missing time?”

“Yes, but none of that applies here.” Nathan replied. "Especially since you would actually need a wormhole to enter the vacuum of space-time and the one we have is being dismantled and was only partially functional." 

Jack looked around the room. The same room that Nathan was in when he passed out earlier this week and Jack got the call he was in the infirmary. “What about ghosts? Like how Walter shocked you and you passed out from dehydration? Maybe... _ could _ the shock stop memories from being recorded? Like...damaging a hard drive somehow? Except...it’s my brain?”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Walter is in his containment chamber and unable to leave for months. I promise you that. And ghosts don’t exist.”

Jack watched as Nathan picked up a needle and started to roll his vein around. “What could make me lose time that doesn’t include wormholes, ghosts, brain damage or PTSD?”

He pushed the needle into his skin and watched the blood flow into the catheter. He attached a blood tube and watched it fill. “I don’t know..which is why we’re testing for drugs.”

Jack frowned. “Are you pissed that I forgot about therapy and it sounds like I’m making science excuses?”

“Kinda." Nathan smiled. “I’m more pissed that I don’t have answers for this.”

“I lost time.” Jack said as Nathan changed to another tube. “Or lost memories? You believe me right?”

“I’m really worried about you.” Nathan said and pulled out what blood he needed into separate tubes. “And apparently I don’t choose the correct emotions to display that concern, choosing instead to be as dominating as possible to stake out my territory.”

“Oh,  _ you did go _ to therapy without me.” Jack said and Nathan’s exasperated look told him yes, he did endure that alone. “I’m sorry. I can’t say I didn’t forget about it, because I don’t remember, but I know I wouldn’t make you do that alone. I would have wanted to use it as an opportunity to turn you on by showing you how evasive I can be in therapy.”

Nathan raised an eyebrow. He added the tube to the pile, took off the tourniquet, then grabbed gauze to place over the needle as he withdrew it. “I know. That’s what you told me when you left Cafe Diem to go take Zoe her costume before joining me at Beverly’s.”

“ _ Oh my god _ , I hope that costume isn’t still in my Jeep.”

Nathan stepped forward and kissed him. He needed to reassure Jack that he wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m sorry I doubted you. I just have a hard time rationalizing the two sides of you. Nobody here has seen the Marshall Carter I have and I worry you hate it here because you aren’t sure you could let that part of you go.”

“Did you talk about this in therapy without me?” Jack asked curiously. Nathan was still holding on to his arm.

“Internal discussion as I actively avoided answering Beverly’s questions about us.” Nathan said. “I had to treat it like a minefield, I didn’t want to give her anything on us. It worked because she was more interested in reviewing what she knew about Ally and I. We spent our time trying to get the upper hand on each other, it was find. Nothing I can't handle."

“So you believe me?” Jack asked and watched Nathan nod. He pulled away and placed a piece of tape on his arm to hold the gauze in place. “Can you help me figure this out?"

“I need more data.” Nathan said. “Can you narrow down who you were ‘Sheriffing’ out?”

“This is so wild, hearing you say things that I would say without memory of any of it.” Jack said with a smile then added, “Kinda terrifying situation honestly, but hearing you say the stupid shit I say to you is overriding that.”

“Glad you take comfort in the little things.”

Jack snorted and relaxed. Who else was a suspect? Who else was on his radar as someone who could be causing this? “Can you tell me about the Andersons and what they are doing here?” 

“Military armor.” Nathan said. 

“Like...time travel armor? Or weaponized ghosts? Or armor that has mind control, memory wiping action?”

“No.” Nathan said and rolled Jack’s sleeve back down and gently fastened the cuff. “Force-field armor. It converts energy.”

“Shit.” Jack said.

“I have to send you home, Jack.” Nathan said and kissed his cheek. “You’ve been suspended, pending an investigation into the shooting. It’s protocol and you know it.”

“You need to make it appear like this has divided us.” Jack said. “I need to know you’re safe while I try to figure this out, especially if I can’t get into GD. Someone is stealing time from me and I will shoot the son of a bitch if they try to steal you from me.”

“That’s sweet, in a homicidal way.” Nathan sighed. “Really not helping your case any, even if it’s going to ensure you end up on my insurance because you have no other option when you get fired.  Go home. Let me see what I can do to intercept Ally’s reports to the D.O.D. about the shooting and you can go help Zoe with her lines for the play.” 

“No lines. She’s an alien.” Jack said and rubbed his face as Nathan gathered all the collection tubes. “One without a costume, probably. And I thought my day was bad because everyone thought I was into tentacle sex. It just keeps getting better.”

“I love you Jack. This time I’m not letting any misunderstandings get in the way of making my relationship work.” Nathan said and kissed him again. Sitting in therapy with Beverly made him remember all the times he and Allison were on that couch, yelling at each other over the dumbest things. Jack has the same experience with Abby, he knew what he was talking about.

“Give it time.” Jack snorted. “Probably about as much time as it takes for you to get pissed about insurance coverage.”

“I’ll have charts and side by side comparisons ready for you tonight. ” Nathan said and slapped him on the ass to tell him to get out of the room. “I’ll read it to you in my ‘sexy science voice’ too. If that doesn’t win you over, I can show you the bill for this portable MRI I just scanned you with. Oh, and your CBC because I know how much you like hearing about your cholesterol.”

“Maybe we can talk about tentacles instead.” 

“Maybe we already did and you forgot.”

Jack had to smile at that and let Nathan lead him out of the room. He let his smile fade as the door opened, it would be bad to show he was on good terms with him right now. Jo was waiting, looking pensive. Allison was there looking….well... looking like she knew Nathan was going to have to beg her to not submit her ‘Sheriff shot someone who wasn’t guilty and claims he doesn’t remember’ forms to the D.O.D. 


	22. Deja Vu All Over Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing a 'we lost time' episode is like juggling knives. Kudos to the writes of this episode because *holy crap* was this a lot to keep track of.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 22

**Deja Vu All Over Again**

* * *

“S.A.R.A.H., door.” Jack swung his keys around in his hand and finally allowed the weight of everything that happened today to hit him as he crossed the threshold of his house. It wasn’t as heavy as it could be, he knew Nathan believed him. He still had no damned idea what the hell was happening though.

“ _ Sheriff, down in front please. _ ”

“What?” Jack looked up at his ceiling and asked his house. OK, maybe he never really knew what the hell was happening since stepping over the threshold of Eureka city limits.

“Up and down, up and down, I will bring them _up_ and _down_.” Zoe continued and refused to let her father interrupt her rehearsal. “I am feared in field and town, goblin lead them _up_ and _down_. Here comes one now.” 

Jack walked over to her and smiled. He had missed a lot of her school plays in the past, and all the work that went into them, so it was nice to be a part of this one. “I  _ know _ I’ve been forgetting a lot of stuff recently, but I know this is  _ my living room _ .”

_ “Shhh! _ ” S.A.R.A.H. admonished him.  _ “Rehearsal in progress.” _

“Sorry, I was just checking her blocking.” Putnam said as he turned off his hologram. He meant it as a dismissal of the man on his stage, but the Sheriff just kept standing there oblivious. Did the man not have something else he could be doing besides interrupting them?

Jack smiled as the hologram disappeared and then looked back at his daughter. Hey! She had lines now! And... _ oh shit _ ! His smile disappeared and he said “Oh crap! I have your costume in my car!”

“Yeah, lucky for you I don’t need it,” Zoe said and put her hands on her hips. “Because I have a n _ ew _ part with a  _ new _ costume.”

“I was trying to help.” Jack said, feeling scolding again. 

“I know, just don’t ever do it again.” Zoe snapped.

“What? That’s not fair….” Jack whined, but she was right to be pissed. However she wasn't the only Carter who whined to get out of trouble.

“Uh-huh.” Zoe said. “Promise. Putnam, put this on tape.”

“Aw...come on.” Jack pleaded as Zoe’s little thespian boyfriend came over to record his testimony on camera. Zoe was glaring at him, and if he got off this easy he probably should just do what she was asking. He looked into the camera and hoped to God this wasn’t going to be used against him some day. “Okay, I promise.”

Zoe grinned, victoriously. That was going on her phone permanently for future reference.

“Clever set up.” Jack said and looked at the camera and went to the little device that was on his end table.

“That’s a holographic generator I invented.” Putnam said and had hoped Zoe’s other Dad was going to be the one to see and ask about it, but there would be time. Dr. Stark should see his creation in the final form at the play on Friday night. “Theater's about creating illusion. The device helps me realize the vision.”

Jack stared at the device and thought about that. Illusions. Realizing the vision. That….could be more accurate about his predicament than someone just taking time from him. Someone could be crafting a new vision and the illusion of something. But who? He must have stared too long because Putnam tugged the device out of his hand.

“Zoe, take it from when Puck arrives.” Putnam said and put his device back where he had painstakingly placed it.

“With Oberon?”

“Right.” Putnam said and walked onto his ‘stage’. “And Puck uses his magic to make Titania and Bottom awake from their spell.”

“Okay.” Zoe closed her eyes and tried to get back into the scene.

Jack looked around and saw no script. Of course there wasn’t a script or even the cliff notes and he was going to have to remember what the play was about from  _ his _ high school English class. Midsummer Night’s Dream...it was about romantic troubles. Kinda a funny coincidence since that’s why he was in Eureka. ‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’, _ that _ he remembered, because that was a pretty impactful line at the time when he read it. He had just lost his girlfriend in an auto accident and his scholarship to UCLA to play baseball. He was facing charges for involuntary manslaughter. He suddenly had nothing else to do but sit in class, with his arm in a sling, and zone out. Senior year...wasn’t supposed to go like that. His English teacher tried to keep him engaged, made him read a part aloud because you didn’t ‘read’ Shakespeare, you ‘acted’ it. At the time he was struggling with losing his dreams, losing someone he loved and being the reason for all of it. Now…. 

“Now when thou wakest, with thine own fool’s eyes peep….” Zoe said and her Dad caught her eye as he looked like he was going to interrupt again.

Jack forgot about the play, he’d look it all up later. What was more important was the performance he was currently a part of. What was important was that when he opened his eyes  _ he _ was the fool who didn’t remember anything. Someone was enjoying making him look like an ass. Nobody that lived in Eureka was going to target him because they all feared or wanted to fuck Nathan. However, there was someone new in town who was hired for a job that was running out of time. Someone who could see both him and Henry as a threat. Someone who probably was not happy with Nathan putting pressure on him to complete a project, so why not buy himself time or rather... _steal_ it? “Putnam, you’re a genius.”

“True.” Putnam said.

“S.A.R.A.H.! Door!” Jack said and darted for the bunker entrance. This wasn’t over yet. He knew who he had been zeroing in on and now he just had to find the evidence.

* * *

“This discussion is over.” Allison said and dared Nathan to tell her otherwise.

“The shooting is pending investigation.” Nathan said and threw her report across his desk, hoping it would fly off and land in the trash. “Half this form is blank! Why would you submit something that isn’t complete?”

“Carter shot Henry.” Allison said coldly. “If he wasn’t your husband, you would be in my office demanding his removal.”

“How many times have you asked me to put off reports, because I was  _ your  _ husband?” He asked and leaned on his desk to glare back at her. “How many times did  _ you _ take advantage of being  _ my wife _ and ask me to give you more time to make the numbers look better?”

“You always put Global first, Nathan. This isn’t about me!”

“Like hell it isn’t.” He said. “You’ve been waiting for me to get into a screaming match with him just to prove I’m no different than the man  _ you _ married. Well, keep waiting.”

“Nathan, believe it or not, I want you to be happy.”

“But?”

“But I know you and I know how hard it is to work with you.” She said. “The D.O.D. is scrutinizing your moves, knowing you’re married to Jack...knowing you were married to me. Nobody else would be extended this degree of latitude, and you know it. The Director of GD, working with his ex-wife and current husband? The three of us holding the most important positions in town? I, for one, don’t want to come under fire for holding back information.”

“Well, that is your job. Relay information back to Washington.” Nathan sat down and smirked. “Perhaps you can wait to file this report until after you finish your report about how you overlooked Warren King’s transgressions.”

“Fuck you, Nathan.”

“I’m not the only one under the magnifying glass, Ally.”

She knew that was true, any more indications of turmoil in Eureka would send a full investigation their way. 

“All I’m suggesting is that we handle this the way we always do, by resolving the issue and putting it in the ‘solved’ pile.” He said and gathered up the paperwork. He noticed witness statements were blank and Henry refused to sign off on an affidavit that he had been shot. She had nothing to submit. “Right now, we need to focus on what’s best for Global which is taking that magnifying glass away from Eureka before it burns us like ants. We do that by making sure the Andersons can present their armor to the military and secure us funding.”

“Right.” She said. 

“So the paperwork was just a test?” Nathan asked. “To see how far I would go for him?”

“We can’t bury any more evidence, not right now.” She told him. “It’s called transparency.”

“You’re pretty transparent, right now.” Nathan cooed and she ground her teeth. “Pissed at me for handling this better with Jack than I would have with you.”

“I still care about you Nathan and I have been down this road with you already. I expected you to shield him, as you did me at this stage of our marriage. However, eventually the honeymoon was over and we saw how different we were.”

“No, we saw how similar we were.” Nathan said, anger no longer in his voice. “We competed for the same things, Ally. There was nowhere else to go but apart.”

“I won’t send the reports, but I will leave them in an open file to be completed when we have more evidence to go on.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“We both know you never ask for _just_ one thing.” She said and picked up the paperwork. “Good luck with your force-field armor test.”

“I’m not the one who needs it.” Nathan let go of the paperwork. “With Henry in the infirmary, Jason’s going to need to figure out his problems himself.”

“He already did?” Allison said. “Kim told me he fixed the equations.”

“Henry….” Nathan felt like he just had a ‘Jack moment’ as this felt a little too convenient for Jason. “Henry _must have forgotten_. Part of the time he lost. He was trying to have me override the doctor’s orders for painkillers so he could think clearly when he went back to work on it.”

“I hope you didn’t.” Allison asked, trying to determine if she needed to make a call to the medical bay.

“I’m not that kind of doctor.” Nathan said with a sweet smile and stood up. “I should go tell him so he doesn’t break out of the infirmary in order to do physics.”

* * *

Jo walked into the Sheriff’s office and saw Carter going through his desk. She sure hoped he was looking for a crossword puzzle to do while he was on suspension because she was going to hate to throw him in jail. She felt like they were making progress in their partnership, even if she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. “Doing some Spring cleaning?”

“Somebody's done something to us, we just don’t know what.” Jack said and went through files and paperwork to see what they had been working on. There was a reason they were at Cafe Diem and his gun was ready to be drawn. The reason _had_ to be here. He couldn’t just outright say it was Anderson, but he felt it in his gut. He saw how Henry and Kim looked at each other. He still hadn’t met Jason Anderson, that he could remember, but Nathan said he was edgy when looking at the guy's car. He had to retrace his steps to that moment when he was suspecting him enough to be ready to draw his gun. “He can make us not see things, or move through time, or just blank out.”

“Okay.” She said as he zipped back and forth across the office with a file, looking for more files. Carter said ‘he’ which meant he had a suspect. She let him go through his process. 

“We all forgot? All of us?” Jack asked and stopped moving so he could appeal to her. “I mean, Henry got shot and no one saw _anything_? Come on, Jo. We’re being Pucked with.”

“Your argument is so strong that it’s almost petty of me to ask, “ Jo took a deep breath and smiled as she realized she truly did believe he was right. “How?”

“He’s got a thing.” Jack said as he bent down to look in a desk drawer.

“A thing?”

“Yeah, a gizmo. A device.” Jack opened a drawer and saw a….form for a physical? Well if he was forgetting things, might as well forget about  _ that _ . He tossed that in the trash. He pointed at Jo. “It  _ has to be  _ a device.”

“Do you have a piece of device-oriented evidence?” Jo took off her coat. She might have to throw him in jail for his own good, he was extra hyper right now. If he went off half-cocked looking for answers after shooting Henry, she was going to have the Sheriff’s position permanently. This wasn’t how she wanted a promotion though.

Jack could tell he was a few seconds away from being sat on by small, but scrappy Jo and put in a cell until Nathan could come get him. Like a lost dog at the pound. That made him calm down and look around with more focused eyes for something out of place. Then he saw it. The blinds were askew. He walked towards the window. "Since when do we look out this window?"

“Maybe we looked out the window to see if Cafe Diem was still standing? It is Eureka.” It was weird, she forgot there was even a window there. They always were on patrol and when in the office, at a desk or filing something. If they wanted to see outside, they walked outside. Carter was very hands on, Cobb had been very reluctant to leave his chair and she hated to be idle. Looking out the window...wouldn't happen unless they were not wanting to be seen. 

"I didn’t even realize there was a window here". Jack said and looked around to see if there was a reason he would come here. The blinds were messed up at his height, not Jo’s. Then he saw a reason that he would walk into this corner. "Have you used  _ that _ computer today?"

“If I was trying to make sense of the licence plate you gave me." She said and nodded, following his lead. They walked over to the computer, she entered her password and the vehicle registration window appeared. "Oh. Would you look at that."

"Jason Anderson.” He read the name and looked at the guy's picture. Then looked back at the blinds. "Nathan said I almost drew my gun on him when he met me for lunch. Said it was a bit of an over reaction for Jason's car being double parked."

“Okay, so I guess we did have a reason to look out the window. If we went over to the cafe ready to draw our guns, we would have talked tactics first.” Jo gave in and put her jacket down and decided to get on board Jack’s express train to unemployment. There was more info on the registration screen that struck a chord. "He's driving a convertible, I remember passing a convertible on my way out to meet you on Old Post Road.

"I must have recognized the plates. Or I recognized that some asshole who double parked would be someone I pulled over. That he could be someone that might be stealing time."

"We've already tried to take this guy in, at least once," Jo said. “Twice actually.”

"Deja Vu all over again." Jack said with a grin and took one last look at Jason's picture so he would recognize him when he saw him. _I have you now._ "Well, looks like I have a guy to go talk to about a device."


	23. Catch Me At A Bad Time

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 23

**Catch Me At A Bad Time**

* * *

Nathan arrived at Henry’s room right after Kim left with a take out container and tears in her eyes. He opened the door and saw Henry in his bed, contemplating things. “Bad time?“

“No.” Henry rubbed his eyes. “Just catching up on old memories.”

Nathan nodded. The tension between them could be felt immediately and he hated that their relationship had come to this. He couldn’t even come visit Henry in a hospital bed without him trying to hide things. “Did Kim tell you Jason fixed the equation? Looks like the test will go on as scheduled.”

Henry wasn’t _that good_ at masking his emotions. “ _What_?”

Nathan came over and sat on the bed. “Must be part of that lost time.”

“Last thing I remember is putting on another pot of coffee….” Henry said and could tell there was more to this information than just a FYI. He knew Nathan well enough to know he was presenting evidence prior to revealing his hypothesis. “Well, we don’t have all the time in the world anymore, tell me what you’re thinking, Nathan.”

“Who has the most to gain from these little missing pieces of time?” Nathan asked. “Notably:  _ you _ forgetting the work on the force-field armor and Jack looking like a loose cannon?”

“You think Jason is behind this?”

“So do you or you wouldn’t have been so quick to that conclusion.”

“How?” Henry asked. “How could he be doing this?”

“I’ve ruled out drugs. Jack’s blood panel came back clean for everything in our database.” Nathan said. “I’m at a loss as to how a room of people can have a traumatic event removed from their memory all at once. Can you tell me what projects Kim and Jason have worked on in the past? What their specialties were?”

“No but I can tell you that this isn’t an isolated incident.” Henry said, angry with himself. “I can’t remember years,  _ years  _ with Kim. She can’t remember it either.”

“Not an isolated incident but a common denominator.” Nathan offered. “Jason Anderson.”

Henry looked at him and raised his eyebrows. “You’re a common denominator too. You were my student back then and now you’re running Global Dynamics.  _ You _ have a broad spectrum of specialties.”

Nathan smiled at him. It wasn't an accusation, it was his way of complimenting him while also shedding some light on the other elements that could have yielded the same reaction. “Then I would have erased your memory of our many arguments and given you a lab in Section 5 and told you you begged for the job. You’d be presenting the armor to the military and I would have saved a lot of money by not bringing Jason Anderson in on this project.”

“So what then? What is Jason doing and why?”

Nathan played with his hand and thought about it. He came to Henry because he couldn’t talk this through with Jack without winding him up and sending him on a tear again. He was worried these missing time incidences might start to have neurological side effects and was trying to limit the reasons Jack had to lose memories. Henry would resume the role of teacher given the slightest opportunity and right now he needed a sounding board for his thoughts. “Is there anything that Jason or Kim have worked on that would erase short term memory? Something to cause retro-grade amnesia that would be undetected in a blood panel? Something that would affect episodic memory but not semantic? Jack can’t remember the events but he has an established baseline about his understanding of what happened, the only ways it could have happened, and the retraceable path to his own conclusions. He is able to repeat to me exact what he said, even though he can’t remember it already happened.”

“No.” Henry said firmly and that made Nathan look up at him like he had just been scolded for coming to an unethical conclusion. He didn’t mean it to come out that way, he voiced his anger at Jason. “But _ I  _ did.”

“What?”

“Jason has a machine that can wipe out short-term memory, because  _ I _ built it 20 years ago.”

Nathan tried to recall mention of a device Henry was working on. 20 years ago, _he_ was at MIT as a damned teenager absorbing everything his teacher would do or say. A device like that, he would have told him about. Especially with his love for artificial intelligence and his studies in neuroscience to enhance it. 

“I had a theory that a properly modulated EM burst could change the electrical properties of brain cells. Unbind short term memory before they could imprint as long term memory.” Henry explained and watched Nathan soak it in. “While I was developing it with Jason, I could never get a single test to work. That’s why I never told you about it, I didn’t want to derail your own work on neuroscience.”

Nathan couldn’t believe that he was physically  _ there _ when this happened. Sure he was just a damned kid and was so focused on his studies that nothing short of a wormhole opening up in Henry’s lab would have gotten his attention, but he felt guilty none-the-less. Like he should have noticed a change in the man he basically worshiped. 

Henry nudged Nathan’s arm to get him to look him in the eye. Then he pointed a finger at him. “And Jason most definitely saw  _ you _ as a threat. Even then.”

That shocked him because he was just a fucking kid at the time. He dabbled in everything and produced nothing. 

“Which explains why he took this job. He wanted to show you up, do what the great Nathan Stark couldn’t do.” Henry said and wished he wasn’t so confident about this. Maybe he has suspected something all along and without the evidence he didn’t allow a mere ‘gut feeling’ gain traction. Which lead to remembering who did trust his gut. “Jack. He saw Jack as a way to get at you.”

“The jokes on him because that was his undoing.” Nathan said. “The one man in town who he could steal memories from who would not write off his instinct and would keep on the scent of something foul until he found it.”

“So what do we do?”

“We go ahead with everything as planned. Let him run his test in front of the Joint Chiefs. We have to catch him in the act somehow or we’re going to look as crazy as Jack does right now.” 

* * *

Nathan finally was able to leave GD for the day and walked out to the parking lot with Jason and Ally. He held the door for them and then heard Jason before he could step outside, and knew he should have called Jack and told him what was going on. He wanted to get in the car first, he just wanted to be secure in the car before calling him. Damn Jack for making him paranoid about Fargo and his surveillance.

“I thought you were suspended.” Jason said as the Sheriff marched up to them from his Jeep, which was parked behind his convertible and blocking him in.

“You worried to see me?” Jack asked and casually walked up to him as Nathan and Ally came out of the building. He kept his eyes on Jason, not want to see whatever look Nathan was giving him. 

“You shot my friend, so yes.” Jason countered.

“I figured it all out, I know what you’re up to.” Jack said victoriously.

Nathan really hoped that was the case as Ally looked at him with a glare that said ‘get him under control before I do’. It was too late, he had to let Jack go through the motions now.

“In regards to?” Jason asked as he walked towards his car. He’d just drive over the sidewalk to leave, it’s not like Carter was able to arrest him right now.

“I know you have a device that can create a wormhole, bend time or make you invisible.” Jack said and looked to Nathan and Ally and the two very large GD security dudes accompanying them. He looked back at Jason and pointed at him with as much confidence as he could muster. “A wormholing, time-bending, invisibility device that shields you from the mind!”

Jason raised his eyebrows and was honestly at a loss for words. The Sheriff was tenacious, but an absolute idiot. He had no idea what he was dealing with even if he knew something was wrong. There was no threat here. Not unless he convinced Stark he was right. He looked at Stark and shook his head, how embarrassed he had to be to be married to this idiot right now.

“Yes. He said invisibiling.” Nathan said dryly. So much for a dramatic conclusion to this problem, Jack was still grasping at straws and didn’t have the background to come at Jason with anything more than a hunch. He was right, just didn’t know why. That’s why they were a team though and that’s why Jason could laugh now because he was going to cry later.

Jason shook his head, even Stark couldn’t defend  _ that.  _ He reached into his pocket for his keys, there was nothing they could hold him on now. Not when the local Sheriff and idiot husband of the director was making accusations like that! 

“No!” Jack saw him go into his pocket and lunged forward. He wasn’t going to give the bastard a chance to do something to Nathan.

“Carter!” Allison was the one who had to react, Nathan seemed stuck in place at the embarrassing display. “You’re already under suspension!”

“Jack!” Nathan boomed as he watched him swat away something from Jason’s hand and he reluctantly had to signal the guards to pull Jack off Jason.

“There! _That’s_ the device that invades your mind!” Jack said as he pointed at a little black thing on the ground as the GD security dudes restrained him.

Nathan bent down to pick it up and his heart sank. It was just a key fob.

“It also _starts my car_.” Jason said smugly and laughed. This was better than he imagined it would be! What an absolute moron Jack Carter was.

“Let go of him.” Nathan instructed the guards as he held out the keys for Anderson. He was glad it was dark so Jason couldn’t truly make out the glare he was giving him.

He made sure to give Stark a look of pity when he snatched his keys back. “What does he have to do to get fired? Shoot another person?”

“Good question, Nathan.” Allison said. 

“Not my employee.” Nathan replied and walked away from them in order to grab Jack's arm and drag him towards his car. To his startled and defeated husband he growled, “Not...a word.”

“Nathan….” Jack said as he tried to figure out how to apologize for embarrassing him but also unload all his evidence without letting Jason hear. Nathan was too busy trying to drag him away like a dog that just bit someone, drag him away before someone demanded he be put down for being vicious even though he was trying to protect everyone.

“One of you, please move the Sheriff’s car so Dr. Anderson can go home.” Nathan snapped at the guards. 

Allison ran up to them as Nathan unlocked his car and was about to shove Jack in the passenger seat, but Jack was pushing back now, protesting the rough treatment. It was only a matter of time before someone asked why she let Nathan do what he wanted and let Jack get away with everything. “I can’t let you do that, Nathan!”

“Ally, _please_. We both know you liked it a little rough too.” Nathan said and was really trying to surprise Jack with that comment long enough to get the upper hand and shove him in the damned car before Ally decided to take this into D.O.D. hands. It was dark and Jack couldn’t see the look he was giving him to just  _ stop fighting and trust m _ e. 

“Nathan!” She snapped. “You know you can’t just go home. Not after this.”

Jack leaned against the car as Nathan just stopped fighting him and accepted he lost this round. He felt his hand drop to his waist, and a huge defeated breath blow across the side of his face. It wasn’t until that moment that he realized Nathan was trying to save him from the inevitable escalation from suspension to incarceration. _Oh….shit._


	24. Time to Face the Music

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter!

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 24

**Time to Face the Music**

* * *

  
  


“It’s a little unorthodox, but I’ve dealt with worse.” Beverly said and sat down in a chair and prepared to have that therapy session she was promised earlier today. She wasn’t expecting to have her patient locked in a jail cell, but it made things easier on her. Especially since Jack Carter had the energy level of the Roadrunner. 

Nathan was sitting in Jack’s chair at his desk and reverting to his dark and angry self, hoping to keep eyes off him. It worked, nobody dared to shoot him a look as he watched Jack through the bars of his own cell pace back and forth. He didn’t know how he and Jack were going to make it through this, it seemed like everything was stacking against them. From shooting Henry to being dragged to jail by GD security, it was not looking promising. This was just their first week and this was mild compared to what Eureka could actually unleash.

“How are you so strong!” Jack demanded of his Deputy. She had been the one to take him out of the GD security van and literally _toss_ him in the cell. 

“I’m small but scrappy.” Jo replied and smiled at him. They locked eyes briefly, she softened her look and it told him she had his back on this with one look. He wasn’t backed into a corner like it seemed. She still remembered what they talked about. She still had evidence to work through. He nodded, though it appeared he was simply acknowledging that she could toss him around like a dishrag at any given time. Which was true.

Beverly cleared her throat to get his attention.

“I don’t need therapy!” Jack snapped at her.

“Maybe not, but if it keeps you away from Jason Anderson then it’s time well spent.” Allison said and turned to see Nathan just smoldering in anger while sitting at the Sheriff’s desk. “Sorry Nathan, I had no choice.”

Nathan watched her leave without saying a word, then his eyes went back across the room, scanning things as he went. What had set Jack off? Where would he keep his research notes? Did Jack keep notes or simply pack everything into that head of his? Certainly, now that he was losing memories, he would start recording things? His eyes made it all the way back to the cell where he noticed Jo giving him a scrutinizing look. Beverly was distracted by Jack’s pacing, so he played with his wedding ring to show Jo where his loyalties truly were. She cocked an eyebrow at him and nodded her understanding, she actually seemed pleased. Jack really didn’t take long to earn people’s trust and loyalty. He realized immediately what that meant, Jo was his sounding board and where he kept his evidence safe. Jack hated paperwork, he trusted his people though.

“OK Jo, come on. Let me out.” Jack pleaded.

“Not my call, Carter.” She said and Jack locked eyes with her again, this time under the pretenses of a stare down. He was giving her an out. Making sure she had a reason to back away from the liability that was her boss. Which meant he didn’t want them both in the same room again, in case this memory was erased too. Well, if he was choosing therapy over arguing with her, then he was telling her he would be just fine. Especially since this session was an emergency private council and was not covered by the D.O.D. and would be a bill he would get and be expected to pay on his own. Well, that wasn’t something she was going to be able to convey to him with just a look and not the news she wanted to break to him. He broke the stare, acting like the submissive shit he wasn’t, and started pacing again. She gave Beverly the keys to the cell since this was in her hands now. “I’ll be at Cafe Diem if you need anything, getting that Vinspresso you forgot to get me earlier, Carter.”

Jack turned to watch her leave and she turned off the computer as she went, the one with the vehicle registration. Yeah, she believed him. He looked to Nathan now, actively avoiding looking at him since being thrown in his own jail cell. He really was an embarrassment tonight, but he was so scared that Jason was alone with Nathan it was worth the fallout. He needed to maintain Jason’s focus on him, though getting locked up was not quite the turn he expected. “Nathan?”

“Not my call either, Jack.” Nathan said and looked down at the ticket book on Jack’s desk. Pencil scribbled over a partial license plate number. Old school. “Your call to miss our session earlier, so now you make us  pay the price for that too.” 

Jack wrapped his hands around the bars of the cell as Nathan tapped his fingers on his desk. No...not on the desk, on _ his ticket book _ ! OK. He was still with him on this. It was his turn to act, time to show everyone where Zoe got her acting skills from. “Nathan! Jason Anderson has…”

“A wormholing, time-bending, invisibility device that shields you from the mind?” Nathan repeated in his sarcastic drawl and leaned back in the chair and folded his hands on his lap. Nope, Jack just saw that he was indicating he knew about the ticket not about the fine for not having adequate insurance. Super. So he had to save him from that too. “Yeah, I heard you the first time. When you were accusing a world renowned scientist of having the most powerful set of car keys known to man.”

Jack let go of the jail bars and turned to look at Beverly. She was fucking thrilled. The woman was waiting to pounce on them for this because she knew Nathan or at least she thought she did. 

“Well I’ve had resistant patients but you’ve set a new benchmark.” Beverly said as she looked at Jack through the bars.

“Well, I needed a bench to get up on Nathan’s level.” Jack said and put his hands in his pockets. “He’s like.. 7 feet tall and way out of my league. I’m clearly trying to compensate for the inadequacies I’m feeling from moving to this small town of super smart people who would all be more compatible with him than I am. Me, with nothing but street smarts and everyman logic and creative vocabulary. So...I mean why not prove to them I’m smart by finding a device!”

Beverly smiled at him. “Sheriff, I know you’re required to have periodic psychological evaluations in law enforcement. I’m sure you’ve developed a method for sailing through those sessions so you can get back to work as quickly as possible without any red flags. The fastest way is to offer up your own self-actualizations.”

“I'm pretty well adjusted.” Jack said. “Just check my Jeep, I am practically parading around town advertising my tentacle sex kink. They have suction cups on them, I’m thinking of hanging it in the back window.”

Nathan rolled his eyes. Jack was  _ so _ over the top. 

“Speaking of that costume. I also know from my introductory interview with Zoe, that your ex-wife was a psychologist.”

“Why is….what interview?” Jack asked.

“For Tesla admission.” Nathan answered flatly. “You need to _read contracts, Jack_.”

Jack turned and gave him a look of ‘really? Now?’ and Nathan glared back. It was a way to give him a moment to catch up with the new information. Beverly had access to Zoe and knowing Zoe she had unloaded her issues on her. Issues about him, because he was the bad Dad and she was the runaway and her actions were not her fault. Welp. Shit.

“So, shall we start again?” Beverly asked. 

Jack looked at her and huffed. “Fine. Let’s start with what I am used to. The required shrink visit after I shoot a man.”

“I hear Henry is doing well.” Beverly said and watched him. Jack Carter was a flutter of gestures and she wondered if this was his normal energy level, indicative of stress, or a sign he was using drugs. Whatever the reason, he was a far cry from Allison Blake and she really wanted to get a read on these two. 

“Well, yeah, aside from the bullet hole, yeah, he’s doing great.” Jack said. 

“How do you feel about what happened?” Beverly asked and glanced at Nathan who was just broody and cold, sitting at his husband’s desk...watching. This had to be hard for him, having Jack embarrass himself in front Jason Anderson who, most definitely, delighted in the display. 

“I don’t remember what happened.” Jack replied and sat down. “I mean, I was trying to find out...but I can’t do that from in here!”

“Sheriff...”

“Beverly.” Jack cut her off. “No offense but I really,  _ really _ don’t want to do this.”

“I get that.”

“Ok.”

“But since you’re both here.” She said and glanced over her shoulder at Nathan who was hopefully frayed enough after everything today to explode, “We might as well have that session we were supposed to have at lunch, but missed because you were shooting Henry.”

“You’re direct.”

“That session was requested by the D.O.D. before this incident.” She said and looked over at Nathan. “And now there will be more inquiries into your relationship considering how this situation has evolved. The D.O.D. will be here for the test tomorrow and I will be expected to brief them, in full, about all this. And both of you. So let’s get through this so we can try and salvage this.”

“Salvage...what?”

“All of this, Sheriff.” Beverly waved her arm in a huge arch, encompassing Jack, the office and ending at Nathan. “You have to see this is all in jeopardy because of your actions.”

“Actions I don’t remember!”

“Even more concerning.”

“This could take all night.” Nathan said and stood up. He wasn't going to allow Beverly to reclassify this session as their marriage counseling. He needed this to remain Jack's private council. “I need coffee.”

Jack looked at him like he was betrayed that he would abandon him in the hour of his greatest need. “We have a coffee pot!”

Nathan made a show of looking at the coffee pot and then turning back to Jack, “After the day I’ve had, I want a Vinpresso _not_ some surplus coffee from World War Two that you found in the supply closet.”

Jack frowned as he looked at the vintage tin they used to store coffee. Was that why the coffee tasted so...earthy? “That’s just decorative. Mr. Coffee wouldn’t know what to do with something that was meant to be boiled over a campfire.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m not drinking it.” Nathan said as he put his coat on. “Neither are you.”

“Nathan..” Beverly stood up to stop him.

“This is for your benefit as well. My tolerance for this bullshit is at an all time low and needs to be enhanced with more than a little caffeine.” Nathan said coldly and strode out of the room, coat billowing behind him. Before he disappeared through the front doors he said, “Don’t worry, Jack. I’ll call our house and tell her we’ll be late for dinner _again_ and tell your kid you’ve been arrested. I have some charts I need to review tonight, I need to get out of the backseat of my car too. I’ll be back.” 

Jack sighed. So Nathan was going to leave him in here while he went to Cafe Diem to talk with his Deputy. At least that meant he was on to something. At least he figured out that Jo was where he kept his notes for safe keeping. 

“He’s in a mood.” Beverly said as the doors slammed.

“He’s pissed about insurance.” Jack said and she turned and looked at him. “He wants me to choose his. I’m sure that says something about his need for control, right? How everything he has is better than mine?”

“You... _have_ insurance, right?” 

Jack raised his eyebrows. She looked serious! _Oh my God_ , if Nathan was going to use this domestic squabble of theirs to get him out of jail he was giving him a blow job right here in the office for being an all powerful manipulative God. “Not...yet?”


	25. Celebration Time

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 25

**Celebration Time**

* * *

“You brilliant bastard!” Jack said as Nathan and Jo walked back into the Sheriff’s department with Vinspressos. He was sitting at his own desk, having been let free by Beverly for not having the adequate health benefit coverage to utilize her services. “You fucking genius!”

“About damned time you recognized it.” Nathan said and opened his arms up, coffee in each hand, to welcome Jack into a hug.

Jack walked up and couldn’t stop smiling, Nathan even looked the part of the evil mastermind with that big black coat and smug grin. He pulled him down into a kiss by his expensive tie and Nathan was helpless to do anything about it because his hands were full.

“Well, if you two want some privacy…” Jo said and couldn’t help but be warmed by the absolute power of love in Jack’s kiss. Nathan had come into Cafe Diem and ordered Vinspressos and had made a show of looking at his watch. She didn’t know what he was doing until she saw Beverly’s car drive past the window. Then, the bastard smiled and she knew he had done something. What he did….well that was still to be determined. She assumed he made a call to some higher power.

Jack broke off the kiss. “He managed to scare off Beverly by using his control issues and insurance problem!”

“What?” Jo asked and Stark rolled his eyes.

“Not mine.  _ Yours. _ Your lack of insurance and lack of common fucking sense about…” 

Jo raised her eyebrow as Carter shut him up by kissing him again. OK, that was not only very very useful move, but also really adorable.

“Yeah. She ran.” Jack said and giggled. “So fast.”

“You’ll find out why when you get the bill for that ten minutes of services.” Nathan said and Jack didn't let go of him, leaving him to stand there with coffee in his hands and a happy husband in his arms. Hardly something he was going to complain about.

“So where are we with this Anderson thing?” Jo asked.

“He has a memory wiper.” Nathan said. “Henry made it 20 years ago.”

“I was close.” Jack mumbled as he pressed his face into Nathan’s shoulder and squeezed him in a hug.

“You were nowhere near  _ close _ .” Nathan said and looked for a place to put down the coffee, but Jack didn’t want to let go of him. “This device removes short term memories.”

“Great, let’s go arrest him!” Jo said and realized Carter was not currently able to arrest anyone since he was suspended. “I’ll arrest him.”

“We need to catch him with it.” Nathan said. “In front of the D.o.D. This is Jason Anderson, he’s not just some lower level lab assistant he’s got more patents than most corporations. We can not make a move until we can show as many people as possible he is guilty. We have to go through with the test and bring Allison in on this. Nobody is going to believe this, even after we show them the device.”

“OK.” Jack said. “I like that plan. Dramatic. Kinda what he deserves. Points for style. One question?”

“Mmmm?” Nathan hummed and looked at the coffees in his hands. He really wanted to set them down but was enjoying Jack being wrapped too tightly around him to go anywhere.

“Do we really want the D.o.D. to have a memory wiper device? I mean….isn’t that going to be something they look at and want more than force-field armor?”

“Considering you have to be the one to disrupt the test and accuse him of being a villain, I doubt I’ll have a hard time convincing them it causes brain damage.” Nathan said and felt the air squeezed out of his lungs as Jack playfully admonished him for that comment. “Invisibling?”

“Someday, there will be an invisibiling device and you will reluctantly have to use the word in a serious science application and I absolutely will revel in delight at that moment.”

“Probably.” Nathan had to admit he was right. “However invisibility is illegal and right now your investigation into this is quasi-illegal too since you’re suspended. So, as much as I want to shut Jason down and revel in delight at him being outed as a fraud, we have to do it with an audience. He’s too well known, he can leave town and continue what he’s been doing for 20 years which is claim Kim’s work as his own. Since this is a classified project, we can’t make the results known to the scientific community. So, we have to destroy his career while allowing Kim to take credit for her past work and leave him with nothing. No royalties, no credit, no work. You, Jack, need to prove to the D.O.D. you caught him. That’s how you get your job back, because there is very little else that is going to save you from the hole you’ve dug for yourself.”

“So what am  _ I _ supposed to do with you, in the meantime, Carter?” Jo asked. “As acting Sheriff? Since you are suspended?”

Jack locked his arm around Nathan and shook his head. He grinned at her, a smile that said ‘All I care about right now is what I’m going to do to him’ and said, “Not your call. Beverly was in charge of me and she let me go. I’m going home. Your keys are on your desk.”

She raised her eyebrows as Carter practically shoved Stark out of the office, the taller man unable to do much about it since he was preoccupied with not spilling his coffee on his obviously horny husband. “Well, apparently he didn’t forget he likes to do him.”

* * *

“Holy shit, I can’t believe _ that _ turned you on that much.” Nathan said as he lay on their bed completely numb from Jack’s rather incredible oral performance. He was still fully clothed, Jack barely got the bedroom door shut before unzipping his pants and shoving him backwards onto the bed.

Jack crawled up on the bed beside him and laughed. “I know! I can’t wait for you to get out those pie charts and lecture me on your amazing job benefits to remind me of how mind-blowingly brilliant that move was.”

“Yeah.” Nathan said and took a deep breath. “Mind-blowing is right.”

“Wow.” Jack said as he felt how soft Nathan’s overcoat was. “What is this coat made out of? Unicorn fur? It’s the softest thing I have ever felt.”

“Custom. Wool. Yes.”

“Dry-clean only?”

Nathan started to laugh. “I can’t even be mad it’s stained now.”

“That’s good, because I underestimated how turned on I made you and I definitely am not used to swallowing that volume.”

Nathan pulled him over and kissed him. “Sure you were just turned on by the insurance?”

“Oh? Do you mean we’re going to talk about that little jab at Allison, right now?” Jack asked and pet Nathan’s beard as he smiled at him. He loved this beard,but he also hated it covering some of his magnificent face. He deepened his voice to mimic Nathan. “We both know you liked it a little rough too.”

“You’re the one who manhandled me back to my car.” Nathan said. “Way more force and grabbing than I did.”

“You did it first.” Jack snorted. “You’re the one with the stupid small back seat or else you would have been _this_ happy, _much_ sooner.” 

“Surprised you didn’t flip me around and shove me in the back seat then and there at GD. I guess we don’t have to worry about triggering some cop instinct, huh?”

“Well, look at you multi-tasking.” Jack said. "Proving to me that I have nothing to worry about while going back to being a regular cop."

“It was an afterthought.” Nathan said. “I had to play into Jason’s idea that you embarrassed me before I smashed that smug grin off his face with my fist. I had to get you out of there, foremost, because I knew Ally would realize she was technically in charge of you and would have to act. Once the shock wore off, she'd remember to protect her job and not anyone else. I got further than I thought I would, honestly.”

“I felt awful.” Jack admitted. “I didn’t expect you to still be there, I just wanted Jason to keep his focus on me as the threat.”

“Worked out OK, we’ll get him. You’ll get him.”

“Really going to let me take this victory?” Jack asked. “Aren't you going to look bad for hiring this guy and not realizing he’s a fraud?”

“Nope. That’s the great thing about being management, you delegate and it is someone else's fault when the project fails.” Nathan stretched and groaned, he was tired. “The armor works, anyway. I got results and the bonus of being married to the guy who caught a thief that has been going undetected for twenty years. I’ll come out of this just fine and you’ll have your job back. Jason went twenty years, under the noses of some of the most successful businessmen and women, governments and inventors and nobody questioned him. Yet, you did. Caught him in a few days. I’d be incredibly turned on by that too, if I could move.”

“You need a bigger back seat.” Jack said, though he wasn’t upset 

“Eh, gave me time to catch you up on your blood work, pending disciplinary paperwork and Henry’s insight.” Nathan said. “Kept you distracted while I sped home.”

“Inactive Sheriff.” Jack reminded him. “Can’t write tickets now. Don’t even have a ticket book.”

“I can’t believe you managed to get thrown in your own jail cell.”

Jack kissed his lips, this time more slowly. Savoring the moment of how exhausted and pleased he was. “Sorry I ruined your night, I was worried Jason might memory wipe you.”

“He’s trying to make me look bad, make sure I know he’s better than me.” Nathan reached up to stroke Jack’s cheek. “That is only achieved by letting me keep every single memory.”

“He’s manufacturing a story, a play, to show the world he’s better than you?” Jack asked and leaned into his touch. “What kind of asshole  _ were you  _ at 15?”

Nathan snorted. “The ironic thing is that, at that age, I wasn’t. I just wanted to learn. I was finally around people who were of my same intelligence who I could interact with. I never found anywhere that I fit in, but that changed at MIT. I was treated like an equal and Henry was the one who gave me full access to everything I had ever dreamed of working on. He didn’t tell me about the rules of nature or science that could not be broken, he told me to break them.”

“You were really at MIT when you were 15?”

“I was a graduate student.” Nathan said. 

“At 15, I made the Varsity baseball team.” Jack said. It wasn’t the same, but they weren't the same. That’s why they worked well together. It wasn’t much of a competition because they didn’t play the same game. That’s how they could work so well and he wasn’t embarrassed by his shortcomings. He never thought he could compete with Nathan and didn't really want to. “We went to State that year. Pitched a no hitter. Got scouted for several teams. Guess we both overachieve.”

“I’d like to see those pictures.” Nathan said, honestly.

“If you show me yours.”

Nathan snorted. “I was a gangly, six foot tall academic who never came out of the lab.”

“Prove it.” Jack said. 

“Henry probably has pictures.” Nathan admitted and Jack’s face lit up. 

“I got the impression you guys weren’t on the best terms?” Jack asked, he chose to tread lightly on the minefields of history in Eureka. Everyone knew every little mistake and triumph around here, but that Nathan wasn’t  _ his _ Nathan. The Nathan that was here before was definitely not _this_ guy and he didn’t want that information clouding his vision, but some things he wasn’t going to be able to avoid.

“Yeah. That’s going to have to be something I work on.” Nathan admitted. Like it or not, Henry was going to be someone Jack relied on a lot and that was going to be a bridge he would need to repair. Jack didn’t deserve to be in the middle of that. “Henry had me pull the records of every project that Jason Anderson ever worked on.”

“And?”

“Every one, every last one, was one of Kim’s fields of expertise.”

“Oh shit.”

“Yeah.” Nathan said and pulled Jack a little closer as he said. “Jason stole so much from them. More than just a few minutes at a time, he stole a lifetime.”


	26. Not this Time

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 25

**Not this Time**

* * *

“Don’t wander off too far, the test is in a couple of hours.” Jason said as he walked into the lab. “Not to mention Stark’s crazy husband is still out there.”

“He does seem fixated on you.” Kim replied thoughtfully as she stared at the formulas on the grease board and mulled over her conversation with Henry. Memories, so many memories were gone. 

“Yeah, well, he’s just trying to deflect his guilt over shooting Henry.” Jason said and couldn’t help but feel the pressure to get this job over with and get out of here. It was a mistake to put Kim and Henry so close to each other, they gravitated to each other and had a natural chemistry that it was only a matter of time before they started questioning their feelings. It was a risk to take the job, but worth it.  _ So _ worth it to see Stark embarrassed by his own damned husband and this force-field armor would be the icing on the cake.

“So, you think he intentionally shot Henry?” Kim asked. That was one part of the equation she didn’t consider:  _ Henry _ was shot.  _ Henry, _ who she was getting close to again. Henry, who she lost to time, but now was realizing time didn’t erase their connection to each other.

“Doesn’t everyone?” Jason laughed. “Come on Kim, they found this nut job standing over our friend with a smoking gun. How else do you explain that?”

“I don’t know.” Kim turned to him. “There seem to be an awful lot of things around here lately that require explanation.”

Jason shook his head and made a show of rifling through his briefcase stash of paperwork as he looked for his memory wiper. “Now you sound like the Sheriff. Maybe  _ it is _ contagious.”

Kim grabbed the felt eraser and wiped a section of the board clean. Then demanded, “Solve it again.” 

“What?” Jason asked and felt his heart drop into his stomach. He looked up at her and tried to not look queasy. 

“Looking at it, I know I can do it. I can solve it.” She turned and looked at him and coldly said. “I want to watch  _ you _ do it again.”

Jason swallowed hard.

“What did you do?” She asked. “Come in here and see that Henry and I already solved the problem? Erase the board, erase us, and then stroll back in here like it was the first time?”

Jason shook his head, searched his bag and tried to laugh but he couldn't find the device.

“Looking for this?” Kim asked and then flashed him with the memory wiper.

* * *

Nathan stood in the lab and watched Jason Anderson wrap himself in the test armor. He immediately realized that he, Jack and Henry were not the only ones who caught on to his little scam. Kim knew. She wasn’t here and Jason was ready to literally step in front of a firing squad. 

“Make sure those are armor piercing rounds.” Jason instructed the tech.

Nathan walked up to the machine gun and ran his hand over the ammo dangling from its side. Kim  _ definitely _ knew and she was pissed. “Are you sure about this?”

“We tested the force-field six times.” Jason said. “The Pentagon sees this and they’re going to jam us into production right away. Good for us, good for Global Dynamics.”

“And who’s insane idea was this?” Nathan asked and waited for it, waited for that look of confusion he saw on everyone’s face in the infirmary after Henry was shot. Ah....there it was.

“I don’t remember, we were talking…” Jason said. “ I think it was mine.”

“Must be.” Nathan took a deep breath and hoped Jack was going to be on time today. Any delay and he was probably going to be the one walked out for having someone shot in front of an audience. “Kim is far too sensible to try something like this.”

* * *

“Here and here.” Henry said and laid out all the files for Allison. All the files Nathan had given him access to last night. “All of Jason’s breakthroughs were fields  _ Kim _ pioneered.”

“This is Jason Anderson we’re talking about here.” Allison said and looked at both Henry and Carter who came to her to show her this evidence; evidence that was going to be used against one of the greatest minds the world had ever known to call him a fraud in front of the Joint Chiefs! ”He’s your friend, Henry!”

“Well, I thought he was, but Kim is the real genius.” Henry said and waved his hand over the files. “Here is the proof.”

“Allison, Jason’s been stealing her work for decades.” Jack was glad Nathan insisted that they needed backup for this, they needed an outsider that had established she was not compromised by her relationship with Nathan. Well, other than the legitimate anger at an ex-husband that nobody would fault her for. Nathan told him that she would need to be read-in on this, to push this up the channels. So here they were.

“What about all the other projects he’s helped on?” Allison asked.

“Wait for the team to make the breakthrough and then wipe them out.” Henry said. “Cover your tracks and ride in to save the day.”

“He’s not Nathan Stark.” Jack said and Allison knew what he meant. She knew how easy it was for Nathan to just  _ see _ things plain as day and then rewrite the rules of science and nature as an afterthought. Then he pointed to the files indicating he was talking about Kim, too, “He also wasn’t Henry Deacon.”

“This is monstrous.” Allison had to admit.

“Twenty minutes at a time.” Kim said, emotional now that she was confronted with the lie that was her life. “How many times do you think, Henry? Add them up?”

“Kim…” Henry had acknowledged that someone might catch on to them bringing this to Allison. He should have realized Kim was more than capable of connecting the dots too. The three of them were expecting Jason to flash them, they expected Jason to cover his tracks as he left, and they overlooked the real genius here: Kim. 

“He took a lot more than 20 minutes of my memory. He took my life.” Kim said and blinked away tears.

“I know.” Henry said and took a step towards her.

“We’ll make this right, Kim.” Allison said. She didn’t know how. Credit where credit was due was hardly reparations for years of her life stolen. 

“I already have.” Kim said and raised the memory-wiper and pressed the button as they all hollered, ‘No!’

* * *

“Carter, what are you doing here? You’re under suspension?”

“Jack looked at Henry and Henry looked at him. He looked around. They had files. They had proof! “We had…”

“There was…” Henry said and looked for the records he spent the night pouring over. Records now stained with his tears from the years that Kim had endured being in the shadows of the man who only wanted what she had. They were gone. 

“OK. I would like to stand here and rehash this with you both, but I had enough of that last night, Carter. I’m calling security.” Allison said and reached for her phone.

At that moment Jo walked in and they all looked at her, impressed with her timing. “You have no idea why I’m here, do you?”

Jack flinched as she came up to him, expecting to be flipped over and sat on again. Instead she was trying to unbutton his shirt?! Was this about his “get out of jail free” card that he used last night and then thanked Nathan for? Yes! Because she was trying to unbutton his shirt to show any marks left by his husband! How did she know about him being a biter!? Allison really needed to stop sharing personal details with people! He started slapping her hand away. No need to add that to the tentacle thing going around!

“Wow.” She said and almost reached up to slap him in the head when he finally, grudgingly, gave up. 

“What?” Jack said and gave her a look of betrayal that only got an eye-roll in response. 

Jo opened up his shirt to reveal a camera. “Hidden camera?”

“Fargo!” Jack spat.

“No!” She exclaimed and did slap him in the head. “Camera!”

Jack looked at her hand and she revealed a display tablet that was obviously linked to the camera taped to his chest.  _ Oh...God...please please please do not have that be from last night _ .

“I saw the whole thing.” She said just to see Carter squirm and then rewound the video to show Kim using the memory wiper on them. “Kim figured it out too.”

* * *

Nathan was getting impatient and looked at his watch and then to the abort button. Jack was late and that meant that he was probably out of commission. They made a mistake underestimating Kim, she probably pieced this all together last night and had plenty of time to figure out her revenge. She didn’t require a team to do it either. He rocked back on his heels and looked at the ceiling as the Generals came into the observation room. He really hoped she wasn’t going to kill her husband, he really wanted to recruit her for Global. 

“Initiate test on my mark.” Jason said. “Three, two,”

Nathan let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding as a beige blur entered the room screaming ‘No!’. Jack had the ‘nick of time’ thing down to an art. He slowly put his hand back down to his side to let Jack have his victory. 

“Stark, what’s going on?” General Mansfield asked.

“Somebody’s about to lose his job.” Nathan said and his eyes never left Jason’s. _Fuck you, Anderson._ _If you only value your career, then watching it crumble in front of you._

“Sheriff you’re standing in the way of science.” Jason said, confident as ever. Happy as could be that Jack Carter just never gave up, because this shitshow of his would surely land him in jail. There was no way Stark’s name wouldn’t be smeared as well.  _ Perfect. _

Jack put his hands on his hips. Yeah, that was probably what everyone thought about him marrying Nathan. Little did they know, he made his genius brain stop working for all the best reasons. They were going to do great things here in Eureka if this first week was any indication of things. “Jason, the camera never lies.”

Jason was about to make a crack about Nathan getting his husband under control as Carter unbuttoned his shirt….to reveal a camera? Nathan looked at the camera and then back at him, a smug smile on his face. What the hell was this?

“My daughter taught me that.” Jack explained. “I had Jo rig me up with this camera and we just got finished watching the surveillance feed. We know about your memory wiper. Which is a  _ device  _ that Henry built and  _ you _ stole.

“A memory wiper? Stark, really? This is who you married?” Jason scoffed. “I’m sure you want to wipe your memory of that….”

Nathan winked at him and smiled proudly and Jason’s words died in his mouth.  _ Yes. This is exactly the man I married and I intend to make many more memories with him. _

“I outsmarted you!” Jack said with a grin and a laugh.

“Now I know you’re hallucinating. Activate the damned test.” Jason said and did one last check of the armor.

“I’ll get that! Fair enough!” Jack said and Nathan stepped aside for him, but not too far. Just far enough to stand behind him and glare possessively and smile. “I mean you’re 100% certain that you’re smarter than me...but are you smarter  _ than Kim _ ?”

Jason felt like time stopped, except that there was no memory wiper. Just an average Sheriff and his proud genius husband mocking him from behind the glass with their knowing smiles. No….he had no proof. He had no idea what he was talking about. He was just trying to get a confession out of him as a last ditch effort to save his own ass.

“I mean, she’s the one who programmed your fancy little vest.” Jack pointed to what Jason was wearing.

“I double checked the algorithms.” Jason said, but even he could hear his lack of confidence.

“Sure. And if Jason Anderson is the genius everyone says he is, then there is no way you’re in any real danger.” Jack shrugged. Okay, maybe Nathan wasn’t the only one with a taste for the melodramatic. 

Jason felt it all slipping away. He kept telling himself there was no proof, but Carter said the 'memory wiper'. He knew Henry created it. He glanced over to his briefcase.

“But if Kim’s the real genius, then you have no way to know if she sabotaged the vest.” Jack said and looked over his shoulder at Nathan. “I get that. I trust my husband with my life. The question here is, do you?”

Nathan was enjoying the show. Not only was Jason looking like his world was ending, which it was, but General Mansfield just caught on to the fact that Jack was referring to him as his husband and shot him a questioning look. He gave him a smile that said, ‘damn right he is.’ 

“But if you’re smarter than her than there is no way she could have figured it out.” Jack kept throwing it at Jason, enjoying watching him squirm.

“If she had a problem, then she would have said something.” Jason countered.

“Maybe she did and you just don’t remember it” Jack grinned. “There’s no way she’d play you, I mean you’re Jason Anderson. You’re the genius, not her. So let’s fire this puppy up!”

Jack went to grab the lever for napalm and Nathan reached out to push his hand over to the button to fire the gun instead. Just in case Kim was really pissed and rigged that vest to blow. 

“No!” Jason screamed.”No!”

“I think it’s time for you to go, Jason.” Nathan said, his voice deep and stern enough to get the Generals to back a step away from him.

“Come on Stark…” Jason said, struggling to come up with a counter attack for the Sheriff’s accusations. He produced no evidence, Stark knew it.

“Cash that check quick, it’s the last one you’re going to see.” Nathan said and then turned to the Generals who were now intrigued by this drama. “Sir, I’m afraid we’re going to have to delay the test until we can double check the vest. I’ve put the wrong Anderson in charge of the project and I’ll rectify that immediately.”

“It’s OK.” The General Mansfield said and waved off an attempt by Dr. Blake to escort him out of the room. “I’m enjoying the show.”

  
Jack leaned into Nathan when he squeezed his shoulder in a congratulatory show of affection. The General grinned at him. Oh….apparently _they_ were the show. Figures. Everyone wanted a piece of Nathan. Probably why he got that job in D.C.s do they could get off on his awesome voice booming in the old buildings as he called them idiots and sent shivers down their spines, Great. That was _way_ worse than Fargo.

* * *


	27. Time is on Our Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I have recently re-acquainted myself with the "Live Smart, Eureka" PSAs from season 2 and could not wait to put them to use. For reference please see this video for half of them (https://vimeo.com/23497993 ) and this tag on Tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/bleedingcoffee42/search/live+smart+eureka) for the screencaps of all of them. And yes, these babies are real and not edited! I will add the pic of Stark one into the fic. 
> 
> Also, I am finally changing this to the Mature rating because I forgot I had it at Teen. I wasn’t expecting this fic to keep going like this, so welcome to the inevitable “BleedingCoffee’s resorting to dick jokes chapter” which gives us the running gag for the next episode. Change rating to Mature, only to lower my maturity level. Yup, classic me.
> 
> And a nod to the fact that in my world, and shadowolfhunter's, Justified and Eureka exist in the same universe.

[ ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OP6nwq_VgHhXRYxuz8hiPEeEQddoeSSVHAzF20NXqcwX6rV1CLRbMssVr6HKuc0gYCsnVoRGhc-UaRkYj3CbMaHVCIRv3lf4CXCPwqM9SU4OJ1q9wxS9RnFaXN3RqJ8jHEXzNYMpwAgVeRhrubPyt9ZbnwimKX7oq9_VEWkWwAkLGyUxMfjXLS_ZCTKDZ7zF1KkLc0POMjX2IZsAWMqoOtG-UAggGjVi_guvQNpvBf9nnNE2G6Gj0qGGD7NeMshwSioZH9Q6osc6ZUFYgtUbiXbwkju-CxrislYlznL0jJ3CI2EMAd1Cjb4-mD2ILqJ9gOi-wvEix6dQD_MMVdYT30lld2pQcf-NW1Z-dtD1thmMBK5CeIYEEDfJCkXaA9a2LZwqzz1SfNvYs90R8CGaXgOwiDnWaZE3IVQpNNzrcaR68N5vePRO9Q6d-_hWf1Sj1k1i-rJ677EPj4w84FeG2dfOYOhgv5esmC3FnUhvfHUcPe3h8msbZIWhhh4xfnrAxzLS-M5RFDxCUF_P0n1CF-38ZnvD2fLBP16qDFNsmQSTHeNPq2MmiQk27yoQ2TY_tvdNCPhOvuKMf2IWY7VgycLPZzlmYQVO968sBq4BrUJEX_sqNSZTpj4iuNK2_NLaQnqcy6Tr6_kuH9rOuKJVbHHo8-zII8byKMKjhj0aRkQZ7bCJ5u3Ol3D5ircA=w1366-h255-no)  
[Link](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OP6nwq_VgHhXRYxuz8hiPEeEQddoeSSVHAzF20NXqcwX6rV1CLRbMssVr6HKuc0gYCsnVoRGhc-UaRkYj3CbMaHVCIRv3lf4CXCPwqM9SU4OJ1q9wxS9RnFaXN3RqJ8jHEXzNYMpwAgVeRhrubPyt9ZbnwimKX7oq9_VEWkWwAkLGyUxMfjXLS_ZCTKDZ7zF1KkLc0POMjX2IZsAWMqoOtG-UAggGjVi_guvQNpvBf9nnNE2G6Gj0qGGD7NeMshwSioZH9Q6osc6ZUFYgtUbiXbwkju-CxrislYlznL0jJ3CI2EMAd1Cjb4-mD2ILqJ9gOi-wvEix6dQD_MMVdYT30lld2pQcf-NW1Z-dtD1thmMBK5CeIYEEDfJCkXaA9a2LZwqzz1SfNvYs90R8CGaXgOwiDnWaZE3IVQpNNzrcaR68N5vePRO9Q6d-_hWf1Sj1k1i-rJ677EPj4w84FeG2dfOYOhgv5esmC3FnUhvfHUcPe3h8msbZIWhhh4xfnrAxzLS-M5RFDxCUF_P0n1CF-38ZnvD2fLBP16qDFNsmQSTHeNPq2MmiQk27yoQ2TY_tvdNCPhOvuKMf2IWY7VgycLPZzlmYQVO968sBq4BrUJEX_sqNSZTpj4iuNK2_NLaQnqcy6Tr6_kuH9rOuKJVbHHo8-zII8byKMKjhj0aRkQZ7bCJ5u3Ol3D5ircA=w1366-h255-no)

* * *

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 

**Time is on our Side**

* * *

“How does it feel to still have your job?” Jo asked as Carter stopped by the office to show her he had his gun and badge back. 

Jack was about to answer and then realized how much he wanted this job back. It wasn’t his job when he started this week, he didn’t want it, and now he felt like maybe it was something he wanted to keep. “Well, it put a lot of things in perspective.”

“Like how horny you are?” Jo said.

“That seems to come with the territory around here.” Jack said and handed her a Vinspresso. He probably forgot to bring her one at some point and it was a little thank you for sticking with him.  “Even _my house_ is horny for Nathan.”

“More concerned with walking in on something _in-house_ in this office someday.” Jo pointed to the front door. “Cobb had an open door policy, had the locks removed.Just an FYI.”

Jack grinned at her over his own coffee. “So this is how we’re going to bond? Girl talk?”

  
  


“Guy talk.” She said. “I was a soldier, Carter. You think I haven’t had my share of raunchy talk? I had older brothers too. The army has nothing on what four teenage boys can talk about or get caught doing.”

Jack nodded. “OK, not work appropriate but I’m sure there will be some inappropriate things that happen at work...”

“I honestly thought I had you pegged as the most vanilla sex, sexually frustrated, self-centered control freak.” Jo said and sipped her coffee. 

Jack shrugged. “I guess if we’re sharing….I used to be that guy. At least with Abby. When we fought, and we fought a lot, we separated and filed for divorce a few times. Reconciled, but while things were pending...well let’s just say the Marshall Service is packed full of stressed out guys who have crumbling marriages because they can’t let go of that control and admit they want more than just one flavor.”

“I get it. It’s the job. You’re in charge, you can only let go with people of your same rank. Unfortunately, when you go home….you’re expected to be in charge there.”

“Oh _Josephina_.” Jack said with a grin. “Someone wasn’t just joking about the anal probes when those cows got put on ice!”

“I know what I want, why is that a surprise?”

“It’s…” Jack sat down on his desk. “Not really. I guess I just never walked into a new job and had someone...well _ everyone _ accept who I was.”

“One good thing about Eureka, huh?” She asked.

“Quite a few, actually.” Jack had to admit. 

“Well, I for one, am happy to have someone on my team that can literally bring Stark to his knees.” She said.

“What about you?” Jack asked. “Are you living vicariously through me?”

“Have to.”

“Aww, I’m sure there is someone out there who can keep up with you!” Jack said and waved his hand indicating that he was talking about Eureka.

“Nope.”

“What about Fargo?” Jack said and she glared at him . “You should hear the stuff my house says about my husband! There is nothing Vanilla about that boy!”

“Carter, you’re just going to have to accept that this entire town has seen enough of Dr. Nathan Stark to stop questioning their sexuality and embrace whatever he wants to do to them.” She said.

“Any chance you have one of these charity calendars he posed for?”

“Actually, I do.”

“God.” Jack rolled his eyes. 

“You want to see it?” She asked.

“I think I know what my husband looks like naked.” Jack said with a smile. 

“I don’t think you’re really prepared for this though.” She said and picked up a DVD off her desk. 

“Oh...it’s digital.” Jack shook his head. “ _Of course_ it’s interactive.”

“No.” Jo said and went to the TV and put the DVD in. “These are the PSAs that Eureka had to make a few years ago, the calendar was a bonus for so many days without injury or death.”

“Wait.” Jack said and sat on his desk. “You’re telling me that this charity calendar was _ a bribe _ to make the scientists stop destroying things?”

Jo nodded and pressed play. “Watch your PSAs, as part of your new employee orientation, and then I’ll show you the bonus material when you complete the course.”

Jack smiled and laughed a little. So maybe she was planning to keep him around too. “Ok. A small price to pay for unlocking the bonus features I keep hearing about.”

“It really is.” She said and sat down on her desk to watch him while he watched the short PSAs.

Jack sat down on the edge of his desk and sipped his coffee as the video started. This town, was something else. 

“ _ Hi. I’m Allison Blake. Is someone you know trying to create a black hole? Don’t feel guilty about telling an adult, because friends don’t let friends destroy reality. And remember, live smart Eureka. _ ”

Jack frowned. That sounded like it was in reference to something that happened before. Walter made wormholes so who was making  _ black _ holes? Wait….Tell an adult? KIDS!?

_ “Hi. I’m Henry Deacon. If you’re building a robot, make sure to follow the directions carefully. Because today's mistake is tomorrow's unstoppable killing machine. And remember, Live Smart Eureka.” _

Jack put his coffee down and crossed his arms. It was good advice. That was probably in reference to something Nathan did as he was the robot guy and Henry’s student. As he sat and watched the PSA he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of calendar some safety PSAs could inspire. Were Allison and Henry naked in this calendar too!? How did this town manage to act so high and mighty about intelligence and then create porn calendars and a thirsty A.I. house? “Jo, these are cute but I fail to see why my husband ended up naked in some calendar because of this.”

“Carter.” She said as sternly as she could while wanting to laugh. She paused the video and threatened, “Do you want me to turn the TV off?”

“No.” Jack said and sighed. “Fine. I’ll watch them. If this is the Sheriff’s department hazing, it’s better than everywhere else I’ve worked.”

“It’s actually, required for employment.” Jo informed him. “You skated in here without completing a lot of the required training, forms or test.”

“Aww...you really want to keep me.” Jack said. “I won you over.”

“I’m stuck with you so we’re going this stuff over with now so I don’t end up taking all the calls for a month while you get caught up.” Jo said and held up the remote. “Are you done interrupting? If I stop here, I’m not showing you the calendar.”

“Fine. Hit play.” Jack said and huffed.

“ _ Hi! I’m Douglas Fargo _ .”

“Was Fargo naked in this or did Nathan just have to go above and beyond  _ like always _ and find a reason to take off his clothes?”

Jo pressed paused. “Last warning.”

Jack smiled at her and made a show of keeping his mouth shut.

_ “Some gadgets can be fun and practical. Others can turn your body inside out. If you don’t know what something does, don’t push it’s buttons. Trust me. And remember, live smart, Eureka.” _

Ok that wasn’t so bad. Jack had to admit. Advice Fargo didn’t take himself, but whatever. Then his face lit up when Nathan came on screen. Oh, he liked his hair _like that._

_ “Hi, I’m Dr. Nathan Stark and I love radiation.” _

Jack cocked his head. Of course Nathan had his shirt unbuttoned and looked gorgeous and was smiling like the beautiful bastard he was. But….radiation? He never mentioned anything about working on radiation. Was that his water heater PhD?

_ “But I also love my community. Which is why I leave my work at the office.”  _

Jack snorted and had to cover his mouth so he didn’t laugh out loud. What bullshit!

_ “Because nothing tears a town apart like mutation.” _

OK he was adorable and he loved that smart ass smile of his. However...was this in reference to something that happened? 

_ “Remember, Live smart, Eureka.” _

Jack shrugged. Cute. Informative. Obviously mandated by rampant rule breaking. There was a prize he wanted more than the background on this video though. “OK, so I watched them. Let me see it.”

Jo handed him the calendar and waited.

Jack flipped it open and, of course, the fold out centerfold was Nathan. It looked like a staged Sears Photo Studio BBQ shoot. He was sprawled out on the grass with a smile on his face, no clothes...with a radiation sign covering his crotch. It took him a second to get past the fact that this man was actually married to him and that this was Jo’s copy and a little worn around the edges. Then...it hit him. “Oh my god!”

Jo laughed as he threw the calendar down on his desk and got out his phone. He was obviously calling Nathan.

“Answer your phone, Nathan!” Jack said and realized Nathan was probably in some important meeting with Generals or Kim or whoever...but this was urgent. 

_ “Hell…” _

“Is right! What _ the hell _ ! I’m Dr. Nathan Stark and _I love radiation_!” Jack used his mock-Nathan voice. “Implying  _ radiation _ is the reason for my gigantic dick conveniently hidden behind this bio-hazard sign!”

“ _ Oh. So you finally found the calendar. _ ”

“How is this a _charity_ calendar!?”

“ _ Ah...we resorted to bribery in order to keep that ‘blank days since our last workplace accident’ sign at zero. Charity is not firing them. It worked. I’m brilliant. Want to come suck on my gigantic dick again? Promise, it’s 100% natural and not enhanced.” _

“Whose project was it? The pictures! The staging!”

“ _ Guess _ ?”

“Fargo!” Jack hissed and Nathan laughed and he gasped. “OH MY GOD!”

“ _ Jack… _ ”

“Some gadgets are fun and practical and some turn  _ your body inside out _ !” Jack screamed. “He wants you to rearrange his insides with your radioactive, over-sized dick!”

Nathan started laughing so hard he couldn’t say anything else.

“This isn’t funny! Why does everyone know how huge you are? Is this why I have to take a physical because your ex-wife can’t believe there is a  _ black hole _ that can take this monster! What the actual fuck, Nathan!”

Nathan laughed harder and Jo slid to the floor trying to not lose control of her bladder.

“Keep laughing. Maybe I’ll volunteer to be in the next safety calendar! I actually care about safety!” Jack said he turned and saw he lost Jo, she was on the floor laughing. At least inappropriate sexual talk in the workplace was consistent around here . Apparently that was all he needed to do to win her over. Like a human version of those girly magazines with quizzes about your sex life except Nathan was the naked model on the cover of the magazine!

“ _ Oh...you really need to read your contract… _ ”

“No way!!” Jack screamed.

“ _ Go home. Get ready for dinner. We can discuss my ideas. I think you might have something going with that idea about handcuffs and… _ ”

Jack hung up and Jo couldn’t even look at him she was laughing so hard. “Just another day in Eureka, huh?”

Jo nodded and held her hand out to get her calendar back. “I earned that. Give it back.”

“Fine.” Jack said and bent down to help her up off the ground and then gave her her calendar back. “There is _so_ much wrong with this town, it’s not funny.”

“It’s home.” She said. 

“Yeah. Yeah it is.” Jack said and realized that he really fell into something potentially great here. It was going to take a lot of getting used to, but it felt right. “So, do you still have that camera?”

“What are you thinking?” She asked.

“We’re making our own PSAs.” Jack said and she grinned. “So start writing down ideas. Hopefully we have some down time next week to make something. Maybe I can borrow that thing Putnum had for his 'vision'.”

"Oh hell yes!”

* * *

“Why are you smiling?” Jack asked as he came to bed after taking his sonic shower. “Maybe you’re turned on by your super clever husband too?”

“I always am.” Nathan said and pulled back the sheets for him as he crawled into bed. “I just thought I’d remind you that you have to go 30 days without injury or death in order to qualify for your ‘Live Safe, Eureka’ calendar.”

“30 days.” Jack scoffed and laid down on him. “Is that a way to try and keep me in town long enough to forget about being a Marshall?”

“No, it was a reminder that you shot someone yesterday and your count went back to zero.” Nathan smiled and then stroked his hair. 

“Not going to live that one down, am I?”

“Not until you forget about that one time I drank too much and you had to drive my car.”

Jack snorted. “So, never.”

“I also didn’t think I was still having to convince you that you wanted to stay? When are you going to forget about that?” Nathan cleared his throat. “I guess things have been going well so I forgot that we started off this week sleeping in separate beds.”

“I don’t want to forget about  _ anything _ .” Jack said and played with his beard. “Yeah, I loved being a Marshall but I can’t have you and it. I love you more. I love working with you. I love working through things with you. I love that we can be so open about our relationship here and that the only problem anyone sees is that I’m an idiot and not that I’m a guy. I kinda like that everyone wants you but can’t have you because the smartest guy in the universe wants me.”

“I do.”

“Not even a touch of humility in you.”

“Nope.” 

“I was scared of losing all this today, even if I was too busy being scared of not remembering things.” Jack said. “Beverly hit the bullseye on that one.”

“You won’t lose me.” Nathan said. “I’ll just get you reassigned. I need a new head of GD security. Someone is broadcasting our surveillance footage on EuTube like it’s reality TV.”

“Fargo.” Jack huffed. “Wait? GD or...our house?”

“GD.” Nathan said.

“Still Fargo.” Jack snorted. “For the record. Only place I’m going to work  _ under you _ is in this bed.”

“Good to know.”

“Why haven’t you fired him?”

“He’s resourceful. Brilliant, but lacks focus. An overachiever even if he’s a bit too eager to pull the trigger. Most scientists never want to field test, he’s the opposite of that. He’s young. He’s my assistant and he kisses my ass enough to make me overlook a lot of that.”

“There is is.”

“The video footage is actually great for morale.” Nathan said. “Or so I’m told.”

“So what is this footage of? Are people watching you stalk around GD all day? Is it like watching a majestic cat stroll around the zoo trying to decide if he wants to eat a person or the churros?”

“The most popular videos are _of us_.” Nathan said and kissed his head. “According to the comments, we’re a very loving couple and I’m proud of you and it shows. You’re horny and don’t even try to pretend you’re not thinking about me naked. A lot of art has been inspired by your tentacle fetish.”

“Of course there is.”

“There is a betting pool at Cafe Diem on when we have our first real public fight, get divorced or you are added to my insurance.”

Jack giggled. “This town is so fucked up.”

“They are completely focused on us at the moment.”

“And?” Jack asked and looked up at him hearing the uncertainty in his voice. He didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of watching them fight...or get divorced. Nathan had a history here and this time they were trying to record it for posterity. That...kinda sucked even if he was trying to make light of it.

“Well…” Nathan swallowed hard. “I would like an answer about…whether or not you want to stay or go back to being a Marshall?”

“I...want this job now. I meant it when I said I didn’t want to forget anything. That includes who I was as a Marshall. I’m not upset about you knowing I have a darker side to me than anyone thinks. Just like you’re not upset about showing your way softer than you used to be. I feel better not hiding that from the person I love. I never wanted to bring that home and it just festered because work was so much of who I was. I don’t have to hide it, never had to hide it from you. I won’t stop protecting you like I’m still a Marshall, so don’t ask me to. I guess it was nice to have you see how tightly wound my job made me, I didn’t realize it before you said something.”

“Is that why you...didn’t want to move in with me?”

“Nathan, I….” Jack realized they need to talk about this now. He literally asked for a divorce on Monday and the week wasn’t over yet. “It was easy for me to indulge in you because I was used to being myself when I was away from home and working with the other Marshals. We’re a tight knit group, we know each other. We’ve…well...most of us were used to marriages that took a back seat to the job and how often those marriages fell apart. When Abby and I were separated, and that was frequently enough, I had people I indulged with.”

“Jack, I never thought I was the first. You knew way too much and wanted too much and honestly are the horniest man I have ever been with in my life.” Nathan said. 

“I’m more ashamed of the fact that I treated you like it was just a fling. I love you, I love you so much and I love that we got married how we did….but when it came time to move in I felt like that was the commitment that was going to ruin us. Because that’s how it happened with Abby, and if we kept the domestic stuff out of it maybe it wouldn’t end. Little did i know you had a health insurance kink that would benefit us both.”

“Well I’m not happy with how we got married.” Nathan said and Jack looked at him shocked. “I want a wedding, a real over the top wedding. Here. In Eureka. With you.”

“Oh god…”

“That’s right. I want the big gaudy wedding.” Nathan said. “I realize I have to earn it though.”

“No...we’re already married!”

“I get what I want, Jack.”

“No!” Jack plead. “I don’t want to see that side of you, Nathan. That controlling groomzilla crafting his fairy tale wedding and all the bodies I'll have to walk over just to get down the aisle to you. No...”

“Tough.” Nathan said. “You either divorce me or remarry me. No other options. Even if you divorce me I will probably find a way to get you back, convince you to marry me again, and then get the wedding I want anyway.”

“Only if you go 120 days without a safety violation.”

“I don’t play by those rules.” Nathan snorted in amusement. 

“Fine. What are the rules?”

“Six months.” Nathan said. “Give me six months and we'll renegotiate.”

“This isn’t some kind of contract!”

“Well you don’t don’t read those so…”

“Fine.” Jack said. “Six months or what?”

“We stay in Eureka for six months. If we can’t work it out we talk about what does work. Either we go our separate ways or we move somewhere else. I don’t know. But if Eureka does work, and we want to stay here, we get re-married  _ here _ to start our new life.”

“OK.” Jack said and hated the fact that they were both still uncertain about things working out. However, they knew ending things was still an option. They could be in love, fuck like crazy, thrive working together...but they were so strongly opinionated and such opposites that things might start to come apart. “Six months. But, Eureka is growing on me. I feel good about today. Working with you was amazing.”

“Weird how things work out that way, isn’t it?”

“We’re so different we compliment each other.” Jack said and played with his lower lip. “Otherwise I’d be the idiot shouting about invisibiling devices and without anybody to back me up with some real science. We did good today.” 

“We did.”

“Hell of a first week, huh?” Jack said. “Does it get any easier?”

“No.”

“Good.” He said. “I like a challenge and so do you.”

Nathan turned out the light as Jack snuggled closer and indicated he was ready for bed. He sure hoped he did, because the Artifact was going to be a real challenge for him both professionally and personally. That project, along with finalizing the damned budget, was going to take priority starting tomorrow which meant less time with Jack and more time potentially losing himself in work again.

“Do  _ you _ have a calendar?” Jack asked. “Maybe one I could borrow?”

Nathan squeezed him and kissed his forehead. “Go to sleep, Jack.”

“Is it in your house?”

“Jack…”

“In your desk at work?” Jack asked.

“It’s in  _ every _ desk at work.” Nathan drawled and closed his eyes.

“I’m Dr. Nathan Stark….” Jack said in his deep Nathan voice. “And I  _ love _ radiation.”

“Go to bed.”

“How  _ is _ that safe? I mean….you’re like those spam emails that advertise that you can grow your penis up to a full foot….except you’re a real doctor. And hot. And have a huge dick.”

“And everyone in Eureka is more than capable of understanding it was a joke. Smartest town in the world, they aren’t using radiation to grow their genitalia. Go to bed.” Nathan sighed, but he knew Jack was not going to leave it alone. 

“How do they know  _ you  _ didn’t?”

“Because I have donated plenty of active and healthy, unmutated sperm to science for study.”

Jack waited for a laugh. There was none. He sat up. “You  _ what? _ ”

“For science.” Nathan repeated.

“You gave them _your sperm_!?!”

“Last night you told me I had plenty to spare….”

“You gave these lunatics access to  _ your sperm _ !? All these people infatuated with you!?! The ones masturbating to your centerfold right now!?”

“For study.”

“For  _ what _ study!?”

“I happen to have many very desirable genetic traits.” Nathan said and could feel Jack flailing about as the vibrations shook the bed. 

“ _Oh my god_.”

“Nobody is using my sperm to have children.”

“Why, because you  _ love radiation _ ? NO! Because you just told me you have viable and plentiful sperm!  _ All over  _ Eureka.”

“Donated. In the genetics lab. At GD. Needs my signature if they check it out.”

“They do nothing _ but  _ check you out! And it’s in the genetics lab? Where people can just dip in and get a sample of the perfect specimen? Or have an accident and mutate that genetic material?”

“Jack , what’s the big deal? It’s not like you’re going to use it for anything other than an appetizer or permanently staining my coat.”

“You don’t know! You might figure out a way to make kids with contributions from both of us!”

“How much coffee did you drink tonight? You do know Vinspressos have way more than the average amount of caffeine, right? It’s free and specifically crafted so that it delivers extra energy so scientists can stay up and work all night. I, however, have a lot of work to get done tomorrow and I would like to sleep tonight.”

“Hey! Back to the Stark Sperm Bank. Who have you given access to this? Who has withdrawn a sample of you?”

Nathan sighed and finally mumbled, “Taggart.” 

“ _ My god _ .” Jack gasped. “One day I’m going to walk out of my office and see an army of Nathans walking down the street and you’re going to just shrug it off as the cost of pushing the boundaries of science.”

“Probably.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t get you.”

“I don’t get  _ you _ .”

“I thought you were an A.I. guy as in Artificial  _ intelligence _ not artificial  _ insemination _ !” Jack crawled on top of him and straddled him. 

“There are a lot of rules about creating human life, artificially, in Eureka.” Nathan sighed and Jack ground his seat-bones into his hips and wiggled around to try and get comfortable. 

“Yeah, everyone obeys those rules around here! That’s why you made a calendar!. Walter made a wife, apparently he wasn’t worried about those rules. Make a half clone kid too.”

“Yeah well, he used his own sperm not mine. Too much ego in everyone here to not use their own sperm.”

“Too much of  _ you _ potentially in a lot of places to not give anyone your sperm. What do they get if they go 60 days without an accident? A little cup of Nathan to go with their masturbation material from 30 days?”

“60 days...” Nathan said. “They’d all have to be cryogenically frozen to last that long without injury or death.”

“Live Smart Eureka! Hi, I’m Sheriff Jack Carter. Maybe you’ve taken my husband’s sperm to experiment with, I mean who can blame you? That smile, that brain, those abs... _those Nobels_.”

“I only have one.” Nathan said and his face was hurting from smiling so much. Thank god the lights were out. However he was sure Jack felt his growing arousal since he was basically bouncing on it as he mocked him.

“Well, before you make your genetically modified super human children with his donated samples, please know I have a gun and I have tracked fugitives all over this damned country and absolutely will hunt you if you make children with him. Thanks, Eureka, remember if he’s someone else's husband you’re not entitled to use his sperm  _ for anything _ . Live smart, live longer, Eureka.”

“Feel better?”

“No.”

“Wanna fuck?”

“Yes.”


	28. Testing You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we move into the next episode, Alienated. Zoe's play is still in rehearsal stages because I smashed too much together this week.
> 
> I was disappointed our next episode wasn't Invincible but then I re-watched this and there is such great potential in this episode for tender moments...but also for me to alienate the two of them because of work. 
> 
> The honeymoon is over, boys.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 27

**Testing You**

* * *

“Good morning.” Zoe said and sat down for breakfast, continuing to enjoy the novelty of waking up and having a family meal before everyone went to work. “It  _ is _ a good morning, right? You’re glowing again.”

“OK, you need to stop with that.” Jack said and sat down for breakfast. 

Nathan shrugged. “You are glowing, like you’re _radioactive_.”

“Y _ ou _ need to stop with that or you’re going to discover what half-life  _ really _ means.” Jack said and sat down and looked at his plate. Where were his eggs and sausage? Why was there oatmeal and….some kind of drink that looked like liquefied grass. “Let me glow. Jo and I have bonded and we’re embracing the girl talk and things are good now. I have nothing to hide.”

“That sounds like a HR nightmare.” Nathan mumbled.

“The real nightmare is this…” Jack said and pointed at his plate and glass. “Which is… _.what _ exactly.”

“ _ Oatmeal and a healthy smoothie, Sheriff. For controlling your cholesterol and caffeine intake.  _ ”

“Your bloodwork,” Nathan explained. “Went into the system and S.A.R.A.H. updates your menu per your medical files in addition to her own scans.”

“Great. Never taking that physical now.” Jack said and pushed the plate away. “So what else does she keep a record of...body fluid wise?”

“Eww...Dad.” Zoe said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m acknowledging that you two have a slightly overactive sex life but I do not want graphic details of fluids S.A.R.A.H might find around the house.”

“What about  _ at the bank _ ?” Jack asked and looked at Nathan. 

“Eww.” Zoe reiterated. “Dad!”

"Not that bank,  _ the sperm bank _ where Nathan made many  _ many  _ deposits.”

“Too bad you’re not a co-signer on my accounts.” Nathan said and dipped his sausage into the fried egg before eating it. Jack noticed what he was eating immediately and looked both annoyed at the phallic symbolism and envious of the real food. “Many benefits, you’re missing out on.”

“What exactly is going on?” Zoe asked as her Dad tried to steal a sausage and S.A.R.A.H. flashed him in the face with an overhead light for cheating on his diet. 

“Doctor Perfect here donated his sperm to science." Jack answered. "So you might just end up with that little brother or sister you asked for when you were seven." 

"I know." Zoe said.

"You know?” Jack asked, not really sure what she was referring to. It would be cool if she was on his side for once. It was neat that everyone just accepted the two of them could make kids if they wanted. 

“About his donation to science.” Zoe said and her Dad just got more confused.

“ _ How _ ?"

"Biology class." Zoe replied as if it was common knowledge. "He's _ in the text book _ ? His perfect little swimmers?"

"No. Way." Jack said and one look at Nathan said, ‘yes’. He really was  _ in the high school textbook _ !?!? WHAT?

"Yeah, some of the Tesla kids are already bugging me about getting approval for a ‘withdrawal’ so they can do something for the Science fair." Zoe said. 

"So they can custom order you siblings?" Jack asked and Nathan said nothing. Just sat there, enjoying his breakfast. 

"Didn't ask.". Zoe said. "Weird enough to see  _ that _ centerfold in everyone's lockers, a little bit less weird to see exploded diagrams of his perfect sperm. Honestly it’s working out in my favor because anyone who isn’t worshiping his body is worshiping his mind and I got the absolute best lab partners because of it. Most of my teachers are afraid of him too, they don’t want him coming to the parent-teacher conferences. Way more benefits than being the Sheriff’s daughter, for sure."

"Does this upset you, Jack?" Nathan asked and made a slurping noise as he sipped his breakfast smoothie through the straw.

"Yes!" Jack said. 

"Well now you know how _ I  _ feel about your health coverage." Nathan said and sat his drink down on the table and smiled.

" _ Not  _ the same thing!"

"It is."

"No. One is about you covering eager scientists like Secretariat and the other is about a little more health coverage and no deductible."

"Are you blind?". Nathan asked and put the charts he made in front of Jack. They were still on the table, he knew he was going to need quick references. "Don't you see the two plans don’t even compare? It's not about your deductible, it's about  _ your life _ !."

"Are  _ you _ blind?" Jack countered. "From making all those deposits at the sperm bank?"

Nathan looked over at Zoe. "Please talk some sense into him."

"Don't look at me. I'm on Mom's insurance. His sucks."

"I'm going to work." Jack said. "Do you want me to bring you a bucket or something from the supply closet to put all your withdrawals in? Do I need the mop too?"

"I'll give you my sperm when you take my insurance." Nathan countered.

"You bitch! This isn't hostage negotiation!" Jack slammed his hands on the table and stood up. 

"They're  _ my  _ sperm!"

"You're  _ my _ husband!"

"Controlling much?" Zoe mumbled.

"Me?" Jack spat.

"They're going to waste, why wouldn't you be happy? He's really got great genetic material and his sperm are all really strong and probably could survive swimming in the actual ocean? They’re really impressive." Zoe asked and her Dad began hyperventilating. 

"Not having this conversation anymore. Going to work." Jack said, grabbed his jacket and gun off the back of the chair and marched towards the door.

" _ Sheriff, my freezer can accommodate Dr. Stark's sperm _ "

"NO!  _ Absolutely not! _ " Jack screamed. "S.A.R.A.H!! Door!!"

Nathan watched as she opened the freezer door. He started laughing.

"Door!!!!” Jack streamed again and pounded on the front door with his fist. “ _ This _ door! Now!"

"What about me?" Zoe asked. “I still have school even if you’re throwing a tantrum.”

"Ask the Grand Champion there to drop you off. You're on _his side_." Jack threw his hands up. “Take him for show and tell.”

Jack left, the door hissed closed and Nathan and Zoe exchanged glances. “What? He’s  _ your _ father.”

“When he’s like this, he’s  _ your  _ husband.” She said and went to get her bookbag. “I wouldn’t mind having a little sister, if you are really taking orders.”

“I think your Dad and I need to get a little further along in our relationship before we start talking about manufacturing babies. Maybe a little more than a week away from when he called me an asshole and demanded a divorce at GD on my first day as director.”

“That was  _ Monday. _ ” She said. “You guys haven’t even made it a week.”

“He moves fast.” Nathan said and stood up and narrowed his eyes as he looked at his watch. Then he looked to the door. Jack was setting him up, sending him to Tesla knowing he was going to be late if he didn’t speed. “And that son of a bitch is trying to lure me into a speed trap!”

“You two are so cute.”

“Entrapment is  _ not  _ cute.” Nathan said and huffed, realizing he was going to have to go the speed limit all the way to work and was going to miss out on stopping for coffee because Jack was being an ass. Well, his loss.

“I want you to teach me how to drive, by the way.” Zoe said and Nathan looked surprised. “I want to learn  _ how to drive _ not develop anxiety because Dad is freaking out about everything. If that’s cool?”

“You don’t want me to tell him.” Nathan knew what she was really asking. 

“That goes without saying.” She said and waved again at the door. “And this seems the right time to bring it up so….will you? I have to jump into driver's ed here and I'm a little behind since Eureka kindergartners get to play on real space shuttles at recess. I legit can not concentrate when Dad is being dramatic like that and I would really like to learn to drive soon. We live in a fallout shelter in the woods, having you two chauffeur me around is getting old.”

“Fine.” Nathan said. It was Day Four for her? Jack wasn't the only one who moved fast. The Carters didn't sit still long. “We can start next week when he’s bored of following me around trying to blackmail me. I’m sure he’ll let me off with a warning if I give him my sperm, but I’m not going to let him win.”

“Thank you for not making living with two Dads awkward.” Zoe said and actually really loved their stupid little arguments. It was a far cry from the Dad she grew up with who would storm out of the house and not come back for a month. This was oddly playful and Nathan was definitely not her Mom.

“It’s not me, it’s  _ your father _ .”

“ _ Your _ husband.”

“Fair. Let’s go.”

* * *

“No. Nope.  _ No. _ ”

Jack waited patiently for Jo to finish grading his weapons test.

“The XJ-55 uses a 30 round magazine? On _what planet_?” Jo threw down her pencil and Carter bounced around in front of her desk. He reminded her of a dog waiting for her to throw the ball, except he was waiting for her to throw the keys to the multi-million dollar elite gun rack.

“Less commentary, more addition.” He said and pointed to the test. “What’s my score?”

Jo sighed and tallied it up. “53%”

“Yeah! Third time’s the charm.” Jack said and did a little dance to celebrate.

“Third times the ‘F’,  _ again. _ ” Jo said and he looked at her like a kicked puppy. “Carter! In what universe is a 53% a passing grade?”

“I went to public school not….Tesla.” He said and waved his finger at her. “Listen, I was a _US Marshall_. Less than 5 percent of applicants are accepted! I had to pass a written exam and oral interview…”

Jo rolled her eyes. “Carter! It doesn’t matter what you did for them because you just failed the advanced weaponry test three times! Which makes me think you’re not trying. You can memorize penal code, state laws, tactics, recall conversations better than anyone I have ever met and you fail this test? You’re  _ not trying _ .”

“I have to know every gun on the rack!?” Jack asked and realized she was dead serious.

“Yes. You’re lucky you’re even getting to look at them considering you shot Henry the other day.”

“Hey!” Jack said.

“No!” She snapped. “You’re acting entitled. Like you should get special treatment because you’re the Sheriff. Because you were a US Marshall. You’re blowing this off.”

“I’ve passed firearm certification courses…”

“Not this one. Not here.” Jo said and handed him his test. “And you didn’t come  _ close _ to passing.”

“You passed this first time didn’t you?” Jack asked as he took the test from her.

“Aced it.”

“And then you were passed over for Sheriff.” Jack continued.

“That’s not why I’m pissed. I’m pissed because you’re not trying.” She said and then added. “And nobody else would be working still if they didn’t pass this course, still didn’t have their physical, still…”

“I get it.” He said. “This is how I prove myself to you: memorizing guns.”

“No.”

“You liked being ‘acting Sheriff’.” Jack said and went back to his desk. “And I still need to prove myself.”

“This isn’t about me! It’s a requirement for the job.  _ Your _ job.”

“Right.” Jack said and threw the papers on the desk. “Can’t check Nathan’s sperm out of the bank. Can’t take the gun out of the rack. Can I at least get a library card and check books out?”

“Oh.” She said. “So this is about  _ you _ being too distracted about your husband's limitless ammunition than how many rounds the SP-42 Shotgun can hold.”

“No.” Jack said and then rubbed the back of his neck. Of course she knew about Nathan’s contribution to science. Everyone did. “Maybe? Everyone is acting like I’m out of line for making an issue out of this?”

“Everyone?”

“Zoe and Nathan.” Jack then added. “And S.A.R.A.H. who wants to stuff his sperm in her freezer next to the sausage and cream puffs.”

“Wow you guys really have interesting family chats.” Jo said and watched him walk around the room and realized he just had  _ that much _ energy all the time. Well, he certainly wasn’t Bill Cobb, that’s for sure.

“Zoe’s studying  _ his sperm  _ in biology!” Jack screamed. “Tesla kids want to use his sperm for Science Fair projects! And she’s on his side!”

“Oh god.” Jo sat back in her chair. “You  _ definitely _ need to pass the gun test before the Science Fair.”

“Am I really out there?” Jack turned to her. “Tell me Jo, you’re like the only normal person in this damned town. Tell me I’m not crazy so I can stand my ground about taking the shitty insurance out of my loyalty _to you_ and not give in and take his so I can have his sperm reserves.”

“I get it.” She said. “However I would be more concerned about the fact that he donated gallons of it to science when he and Allison were having marriage problems. I mean, that’s a dick move….pardon the pun.”

“I’m trying to not judge him by his past actions.” Jack said. “However, if he can just give it away like Halloween candy then why not give it to me without blackmailing me for it?”

“He’s Stark.” She said. “You do realize who you married, _right_?”

“Yeah...and I get this is kinda our game but...he realizes where we live right? Eureka? How long before this blows up in our faces?”

She gave him a smirk. “Did you want me to crack a joke or are we still being serious here?”

“I was gauging how pissed you really were about this gun thing by giving you ample opportunity to crack jokes. Really surprised you didn't expand on the oral exams or penal code.” She smiled at him, telling him she knew what she missed out on. He threw up his hands in admission of defeat. “Let’s go through the guns again. Help me study.”

“OK.” She said. “Thanks for sticking with me on the insurance thing.”

“You have no idea how much it pisses him off.” Jack giggled. 

“I do.” She said. “It pisses him off as much as you not ending communique with ‘Over’ pisses _me_ off.”

Jack bit his lip to try to not smile, but failed. He cleared his throat. “OK, so the XJ-55 magazine holds how many rounds?”

“You’re getting a different test next time.” She said and snatched his paper away and slapped the study guide down in front of him. “So, from page one and I do mean the cover.”

* * *

“Nathan.”

“Ally.” Nathan said as he swiveled his chair around at his desk and looked up at her. “Everything cleared up with the Anderson fiasco?”

“As well as it can be.” Allison said and crossed her arms and looked out his window at the people of GD workers milling around below. “It’s going to take time to get Kim the credit she deserves but I’m using the academia rumor mill to my advantage. How did General Mansfield feel about the test?”

“Thrilled the force-field armor works. Not too many people in the government are upset that Jason Anderson was outed as a fraud, they’re hoping they can wrestle some patents away and save money. I gave Kim the number for a good lawyer.”

“Divorce lawyer?” Allison asked.

Nathan glanced up at her. It was going to take time before they could call a truce. He deserved her scorn, he was awful to her. The sperm donations were a passive aggressive way of lashing out at Ally when she told him she didn’t want to have kids with him anytime soon. Their marriage was already going to hell, and he figured why the hell not. God, he really gave Eureka a show last time around. No wonder they were recording everything he and Jack did. “That too.”

“I finished drawing up her employment contract, I forwarded that to you for your signature.” Allison said. “Very generous package.”

“And I sent it back, signed.” Nathan said and smiled. “She’s an incredible asset to Global. Worth every penny.”

“And the budget?” Allison asked the big question, whether or not Global was in danger. She wondered if Nathan would bring up Dr. King again.

“Kicked to the Senate Appropriations committee and no longer up to the military.” Nathan said and she turned to look at him. “They got what they wanted from me, now it’s someone else’s turn.” 

  
  


“And how is that going?”

  
  


“It’s not.” He said and stood up and went to get a cup of coffee from his private bar. “I have to justify a number that will keep Global on the cutting edge but still give Congress something to slash. You saw what they did to NASA.”

“So…”

“Congressmen Faraday will be in tonight.” Nathan said and picked up his tablet as the coffee brewed. He checked his schedule for any updates and watched the coffee brew almost instantly.. Vincent’s new single serve Vinpresso coffee pods were going to be a life saver around here. “He expects hard numbers and a field test of the PX-319 project tomorrow at 9 am. Hopefully he’ll be impressed. Hopefully, one day, I can stop being pressed for time to get these projects slapped together before their deadline.”

“Hopefully he's forgotten you called him a shameless grandstander in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee.” Ally said as Nathan returned with his tablet and coffee. 

“He brought that upon himself.” Nathan scoffed. “He’s smart but likes the sound of his own voice too much.”

Allison rolled her eyes. “Now who does that remind me of?”

“Well, maybe a little grovelling wouldn't hurt.” Nathan said and ignored her comment. He didn’t have time for her trying to bring their relationship into this meeting. He had too much to do today and was already juggling enough without adding his ex-wife into the mix. She was a big girl and could get the hint that he wanted to be all business right now. Maybe someday they could work together again without this animosity but that someday was not today. “Whatever it takes, Global’s future means more than swallowing a little pride.”

“That sounds familiar too.” She said and he just smiled at her, not rising to the bait. 

“This has to go smoothly, Allison.” Nathan said and then, reluctantly added, “Not just for Global.”

“Oh?”

“Today, I’m going to have to put aside everything today to make sure the PX-319 hangups are sorted out. ” Nathan sighed. He wasn’t going to tell her that he didn’t want to ruin dinner plans with the family this first week or not help Zoe with her homework. He felt bad enough that he was going to have to tell Jack that they might not get to putting water in the shower this weekend, which was more of a problem for Jack than him. He also knew that this work could snowball, like it always did, and his schedule was getting full with family obligations that he was terrified of missing out on. “I’ll come back after dinner to work through the night on it.”

“And?” She asked knowing Nathan was not apt to share his itinerary for the day unless he wanted something. He was working up to it as he walked away from his desk to look out the window. He was holding the coffee cup to avoid playing with his hands and tipping her off that he was worried. He had every right to be, this job was not going to give him time to spare and he still had so much to prove to his husband. Jack might like working with Nathan, but he had yet to truly see Nathan _work_. 

“Maybe you can talk to Jack?” Nathan asked and looked down into his coffee. She was reading him loud and clear, he should just be honest with her. Honest about the genuine fear that things would go exactly the way they did the first time. Family dinner, school play, homework, work with Kevin...all started as part of his schedule until Global took over every minute of his life. “See if he can keep it quiet around here this weekend?”

“Why me?” She asked and said it in a harsh enough tone to make him look her in the eye. His eyes were pleading with her for a lifeline, some kind of help, because he was trying to acknowledge his mistakes without swallowing his pride and actually acknowledging them. 

“Because he will ask me too many questions and get protective.” Nathan said. “Coming from you, well…..he knows he’s got a little to make up for after the Anderson incident.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” She said. 

“Thanks.” 

She nodded and left, knowing this wasn’t about respecting the chain of command. Nathan was trying to put some distance between him and Jack, especially after the Anderson thing, because the last thing he wanted was for Congressmen Faraday to see he had a weakness. As if the Congressman didn’t already know.


	29. A Game of Keep Away

Dissolved

Chapter 29

A Game of Keep Away

* * *

“Nothing like a little Vinpresso to start the day off, huh?” Jack asked as he, Jo and Allison walked down the street together after lunch at Cafe Diem. Nathan had to skip it ,thanks to work, so they got Allison instead. She even chose to accompany them all the way back to the office! He exchanged glances with Jo when she announced she would walk the out, and it gave them enough time to bet on what she wanted after she disappeared into the restroom: Jo said ‘physical’, he chose ‘evidence on Jason’, and Vincent took ‘help you out with Stark’s sperm’.  _ Everyone knew _ .

“It is best from Cafe Diem, even if we have the coffee pods at GD now.” Allison said and sipped her to-go coffee.

“I’m waiting.” Jack said.

“For what?” Allison asked innocently.

“Come on! You’re a woman. Making small talk. You met us at Cafe Diem to have coffee and tell me Nathan was working. So that means you either want something or we’re going to commiserate about Nathan...or  _ maybe _ confiscate my report on the Anderson case?”

“Or search for radioactive black holes?” Jo offered and Jack swatted at her. 

Allison looked at him and said, “Can you be any more sexist?”

“Or you could have concerns about some HR violations at the Sheriff’s Department?” Jack added as they crossed the street to go back to his office. “Forgot to add that one. Since someone has naked pictures of my husband in her desk.”

“Fine.” She said. “We’re going to have a visitor in town.”

“See, was that so hard?” Jack asked and then wondered if Allison thought he was talking about her and not Jo with the naked Nathan picture thing. At this point, it was probably best to assume that everyone had some. 

“Congressman Faraday will be in tonight.” Allison said.

“Ok?” Jack said. 

“We’re still under budget review.” Allison reminded him. “Faraday’s tour has to go smoothly. Nathan would just like you to keep a lid on things.”

“Oh?” Jack said. So she was the messenger because Nathan was trying to keep him away from Faraday! Haha, he should have expected her to throw him under the bus. “He doesn’t want me running up and accusing him of being a memory wiping, invisibling, time bender, fraud ghost..huh?”

"Considering he already called Faraday a shameless grandstander, probably not." Allison said and Carter laughed at that. “You report to me Carter. This directive comes from both of us. Nathan has great faith in your abilities...”

“No he doesn’t.” Jack snorted. “At least not in keeping things quiet and leaving things alone.”

“You’re right. But that doesn’t change the fact that we need a day or two of quiet around here.” She said.

“In this town? Easier said than done.” Jack snorted and watched Jo abandon him and go inside. So much for wanting his job! She was running away when he was getting the impossible ultimatum to keep Eureka normal or suffer the wrath of bitchy Nathan. “And I haven’t even been here a week and know what a tall order that is!”

“See what you can do.” Allison said. “Just for the weekend.”

“Have you considered bribing the town with a calendar?” Jack asked.

“Well.” Allison said with a smile. “That  _ was _ some of my best work.”

Jack felt bad that he didn’t even look at her photo. “I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

  
  


“So this is your hot Friday night date idea?” Nathan asked and sat down across from Jack at the table. “Avoiding S.A.R.A.H. so she can’t put you on a diet?”

Jack smiled at him and blew a straw sleeve at his face. “Actually, I gathered from Allison that you were going to be doing budget work and kissing some Congressman's ass, which sounded like you might be working later. Zoe said she had rehearsal and was going to hang out with her drama club friends tonight and I still have this week’s paperwork to figure out so….”

“I appreciate it.” Nathan said and balled up the paper wrapper and flicked it back at Jack. "I don't want to miss dinner with you."

“I tried to give Putnum his tentacle monster back and he told me, due to health code issues, he was unable to accept it’s return.” 

“By tried, you mean you went to pick Zoe up, she wasn’t waiting for you, you went searching and tried to play it off as returning the costume instead of forgetting she told us she was staying late for rehearsal?”

“Yeah, exactly.” Jack said. “And I got a free tentacle monster uniform out of it. New Sheriff’s department mascot!”

“HR nightmare.” Nathan mumbled.

“That is a great name!” Jack said and slapped the table. “You really are a genius!”

“It will give you something to play with tonight while I work.”

Jack sat back in his booth as Vincent came up to take their order. He shook his head, this tentacle thing was all Nathan's doing. “You’re going to be the one sleeping with it on the couch if you keep that up.”

“One special.” Nathan said with a smile as Vincent looked to him for his meal selection.

“The usual.” Jack answered as Vincent looked at him hopefully and then glared at him and walked back to the kitchen. “So, the Congressman is in town?”

“Gets in tonight.”

“Is he coming straight to GD?” Jack asked as he sipped on his soda.

“Nah, he’ll go to Beverly’s and come by first thing in the morning.” Nathan replied. “I have to get this project functional before he gets there.”

“Don’t you have people for that?”

“I want to oversee this myself. From what I can tell it’s already past the testing phase and ready to be demonstrated, but i can’t take chances. Maybe I’ll see something we can improve. I mainly don’t want to go into this blind.”

“So, there’s a chance you’ll come home tonight?”

“I still have the budget to work out.” Nathan said apologetically. It was a nicer way of saying 'No'.

“Which you would have probably had a chance to do already if I wasn’t dragging you around to chase ghosts or getting thrown in jail for exposing the great Jason Anderson?”

“I would _still_ be staying late.” Nathan said with a smile. “I do hope to have Faraday won over and on his way back to D.C. tomorrow afternoon. Perhaps we can do something to celebrate?”

“Like move in?” Jack asked. 

“We could.” Nathan said and yawned. “I forgot to tell you that your stuff arrived yesterday. I had them put it in my garage, or rather the garage at the other house.”

“Or we could do nothing and just have a weekend to relax?” Jack suggested. “Since we’ve spent almost every weekend since we’ve met either working, fucking, working things out, working out via fucking, or working to forget things aren’t working out?”

“That would be great.” Nathan said and relaxed a little just knowing Jack didn’t have huge expectations about the weekend. “Sorry I sent Ally to tell you I wasn’t coming to lunch.”

“Oh, it’s cool. Gave her a chance to remind me I don’t work for you.” Jack said and shrugged. “I make no promises about ‘keeping things quiet’ as this town hasn’t given me a chance to breathe yet. I’ll do my sheriffy thing and see if I can keep things from getting out of hand.” 

“I appreciate it.”

“I mean really….” Jack toyed with his napkin, “If we’re being honest it doesn’t seem to be  _ my _ people who cause the problems around here.”

“They’re all your people, you're their Sheriff.” Nathan countered just as dinner arrived. “Everyone lives in Eureka, only a large percentage work at GD.”

“That’s not really what I was going for.”

* * *

“Explain to me how you got this equipment?” Jo asked as Jack put together the video camera and lighting assembly.

“Putnum wants to kiss up to Nathan, something about getting the contract for some GD videos or town meeting broadcast....or something.” Jack said. “So I got the tentacle monster  _ and _ a loan on the equipment  _ and  _ free video editing when we’re done with my PSA!”

“Are you really sure you want a kid editing your PSA?” Jo asked.

“They’re playing with Nathan’s sperm in Biology lab. I honestly don’t know how my little PSA is going to be any more inappropriate than that.”

“So this thing actually sends out little reflectors and gives him all kinds of camera angles without having multiple cameras?” Jo asked as she inspected it. It was a very simple camera and accessory combo, it enabled the kid to work with a less than Hollywood budget for his big production ideas. “This is so fucking cool. ”

“I know. I think that this gizmo is actually the real reason he let me borrow this stuff. Nathan blows everyone off when they come up to him with gadgets so if I go home and tell him about it, it’s free advertising. Zoe's play is next week, he's trying to butter him up before approaching him about it.“ Jack then mimicked Putnam, "He's planning to branch out from theater and redefine film."

“So how does it work?” Jo asked.

“Something about mirrors…” Jack shrugged. “I don’t remember. That kid is way too intense and I was already embarrassing Zoe by bringing up the tentacle costume again, so I just listened to the instructions. Which were, look at the reflector that is blinking green and talk into it. That’s the one that the software is planning to use for the most dramatic angle. It’s put on beginner mode, Putnam the visionary doesn’t use it so he’s excited to see how an amateur fares with his invention.”

“Sounds about right for the products we get to test.” Jo said and watched Carter detach the tentacle arm they worked so hard to put on the costume. “Oh no…”

“Oh yes.” Jack said and waved it at her. “OK, I’m going to wing it. Press record.”

Jo shook her head as Carter sat down at his desk and looked at the camera with a serious face. “Rolling.”

“Hi. I’m Sheriff Jack Carter.” Jack said and stood up and picked up the tentacle and tapped it in his hand like it was a nightstick. “Are you experimenting at home? Maybe you got a little  _ too ambitious _ with your foreign object? Please, remember, your doctor can't help you without complete details of the incident. And, let’s be honest, we all know you are fully aware of the size, weight, material and location of your device. So please, tell the truth, because we both know your autopsy will reveal all. And remember, Live Smart, Eureka.”

Jo managed to hold off laughing until she hit the stop recording button. “I can’t believe you’ve only been here a week and already have such a read on this town.”

“It’s been a long week.” Jack admitted and swung the tentacle arm like it was a bat just as the phone rang. 

“And it’s not over yet.” Jo said 

“Hello?” Jack said as he grabbed the phone before Jo could. He really wanted to continue avoiding his homework of memorizing the gun manual. The PSA was his ‘time-sensitive’ reason for not jumping into it already. He would gladly take a call if it saved him from more studying. “Jack Carter, Sheriff, at your service.”

Jo gave him a shake of the head. She knew what he was avoiding.

“Ok,  _ who’s _ being too loud? Yeah, I get that you’re having to yell because of the ‘too loud’ portion of your statement. Who do we blame for that?

Jo returned to what she was doing prior to Carter’s PSA distraction, which was cleaning a massive gun that Carter had no clearance to use. She knew what this call was about and she wasn’t going to let him skip out on his studies for it. She quickly reassembled the firearm while he chit chatted.

“Yeah? Spenser? I know him.  _ Oh _ ? He has a Friday night movie night?" Jack said and looked at Jo and noticed she was putting her gun away. Oh. She planned to take the call so he didn’t have an excuse to leave this painful study session and go watch a movie. “Did you ask him to turn it down?”

Jo put the gun away and made a show of shutting the gun case, then pocketing the key. She watched him frown as he got yelled at for his question.

“No! I’m not shirking my responsibilities.” Jack said and rolled his eyes at that. He was trying to avoid being left alone and left out as Jo indicated that she was prepared to take the call. She picked up her car keys and waited on him. He sighed. “No, as a matter of fact, I’ll send my Deputy over, right away. No problem, thanks.”

“Spenser’s movie night getting a little rowdy?” Jo asked.

“Yeah.” Jack said and hung up. In a last ditch effort to save himself from homework he added, “I’m sure you had to handle it last time…”

“Yeah. So I know the way.” Jo said and twirled the keys around her finger and smiled at him.

“You know what they say about payback right?” Jack said and waved his tentacle at her.

“She’s  _ a bitch _ ?” Jo asked and grinned at him. “So am I if my co-worker doesn’t take guns seriously.”

“Jo.” Jack said and pointed to the manual. “I deserve a break!”

“Then start with the break-action W-87 Mark II.” She replied and waved at all the video equipment. “After you pack all this up and return it before Putnam sends us a bill.”

Jack sat on his desk and groaned. “I’m taking it all home to study.....with my House.”

“Good, she had to pass this test too.” Jo said and left.

“Wait….why?” Jack asked but only got a wave of her hand as she disappeared out the front door. 


	30. Home Theater

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 30

**Home Theater**

* * *

“Hello? Officer of the law!?” Jo screamed as she walked into Spenser’s trailer after banging on the door for two minutes. Still nobody heard her. Taggart, Vincent, Fargo and Spenser were all enthralled with the movie they were playing at 200 decibels. “What is wrong with you people! Turn it DOWN!”

“What?” Spenser asked, not really turning away from the movie on screen but turning an ear towards their visitor to indicate he was listening. “Why?”

“Your neighbors are complaining about the noise!” Jo shouted.

“Which neighbors?” Spenser asked.

“The State of Idaho.” Jo said and then screamed again. “Turn. it. DOWN!”

“Vinnie, get Jo a beer.” Spenser said and went back to watching his movie.

“I’m on duty.” Jo huffed, hinting that they needed to turn it down so that another call didn’t make its way to the Sheriff’s Department but negotiating with them was pointless. Demanding they respect the law would just be the most direct route, it held the threat of pulling the plug on movie night. 

“I can respect that. Like it to go?” Vincent asked.

Jo threw up her hands and started to look for the remote. As she was doing so she couldn’t help but be drawn in by the movie a little. Finally, she managed to turn it down enough that they could talk without shouting. Certainly that would be sufficient. All that mattered was that no more complaints could bring Carter out and that she could hear her phone/PDA/Radio if called upon. Then she pulled a chair over and reached over Fargo’s shoulder for some popcorn and settled in to watch.

_ “Looks human, but it’s just a guise. I’ve seen it. It’s hideous under the skin.” _

_ “Oh my god! What do they want?” _

_ “Us! Our Planet! Our water! It’s fuel to them.” _

_ “What was that?!” _

_ (Screams) (explosion) _

“What are we watching?” Jo asked. The explosions were beautiful.

“They came to conquer.” Fargo answered and realized Jo was right next to his shoulder. This was almost...like a date.

“When did that come out?” Jo asked

“Next week.” Spenser replied and got a whack to the head for admitting he was pirating the stream.

“Picture’s amazing.” She said knowing full well if this got back to Carter he’d make her do a PSA about piracy and she was pretty sure his vision would include pirate costumes, tentacle Cthulhu and multiple mentions of ‘you wouldn’t livestream someone’s hot husband walking around GD scaring your friends for entertainment, would you?’. OK….maybe she would tell him. Carter was turning out to be a little more fun than she thought he would be and she was eerily in turn with his sense of humor. 

“Yeah, it is.” Fargo said and she looked at him like  _ maybe _ he said that a little too dreamily for her liking. 

_ “He’s just the host. The creature’s inside!” _

_ “How do we get it out?” _

_ “We cut it out!” _

_ (whirring noises) (screams) _

* * *

Jack came home to an empty house. Zoe was still out with her friends and despite it being past 10, and her being a recent runaway, he wanted to give her this chance to enjoy the freedom. He had to give her a chance to prove to him that Eureka was different and she was going to change and, in order to do that, he really needed to trust her. It helped a lot that the kids she was hanging with all were more obsessed with their GPA and early admission to college than a social life. It also helped that he already did background checks on them and their families and read their resumes which were on their personal blogs. And, really the biggest reason, was that Eureka was in the middle of a fucking forest in Oregon with no way to get anywhere without a car. That eased his mind a lot.

So he unbuttoned his shirt and took off his gun belt and saw S.A.R.A.H.pour him a beer. “What game is on tonight?”

“ _ I recorded the Dodgers game for you _ .”

“That’s my girl.” Jack said and was glad S.A.R.A.H. was here, he had his fill of going home to an empty apartment. Right now he was feeling a little insecure with nobody here after a week of nothing but chaos. It was Friday night and he was home alone, the work week would have been over if he had a normal job, and he was left with his beer, baseball and his thoughts. Normal. It was normal _last week_! However he liked the flavor of normal Eureka had served him since his arrival, even though it had huge ups and downs, and being alone felt weird already.

_ “Unless you want to tune into the live feed at GD to watch Dr. Stark try to incite a riot with test chimps?” _

“I’m sorry,  _ he’s doing what _ ?” Jack asked and S.A.R.A.H. brought it up on the TV. “Is this...something you should be sharing?”

_ “It’s not section 5? _ ” S.A.R.A.H. said as if it was obvious that was the only ultra secure level and everything else was fair game. 

“That’s not an answer.” Jack said, trying to not be lured in by the image of Nathan with his jacket off, tie thrown on a chair and his sleeves rolled up  _ doing science _ .

_ “There are 1200 other viewers online.” _

“Watching my husband play with monkeys!? In a town of only 2000 people?” Jack asked and saw the comment scroll across the bottom of the screen. User “Larry-it” apparently thought that kissing ass on the illegal live feed was going to get him somewhere. He was complimenting Nathan’s every move like it was a nature documentary. User “Parrish-Oner” thought Nathan spoke the language of the monkeys from being married to the Sheriff. Yeah, someone was on his shitlist now. “Nope. Watching baseball. Not going to develop animosity towards people I’ve never met.”

_ “Dr. Haberman deserves it. As does Dr. Parrish. _ ”

“So, Fargo hates them.” Jack concluded as he went over to the TV to try and change the channel. Then he observed the time stamp. “Which is why you’re showing me their comments from two hours ago.”

_ “Douglas is a good judge of people.” _

“Douglas wants my husband to rearrange his insides.” Jack fired back. “And your girly Fargo voice doesn’t help me forget that. Or the naked hologram, that appeared on my bed the first night I was here. Or the recording of Nathan saying “Give it to me” that accompanied that hologram. Or your declaration that you want Nathan to stuff his sperm in your cold storage from this morning.”

_ “I’m sorry, Sheriff, I was trying to make you feel at home. _ ”

“Do you have a calendar, S.A.R.A.H.?” Jack asked. “A Live Smart, Eureka calendar?”

“ _ Of course. I was included in those 30 days of not injuring or killing anyone, due to my previous identity being B.R.A.D.” _

“So Fargo was working on you when Nathan was here last time?”

_ “Yes.” _

“Were you fully operational?”

_ “As an A.I., yes. Not as a house. Do you want to see footage of Dr. Stark and Dr. Blake? Perhaps news from the Eureka Enquirer? Gossip from the Intranet? Live blogs of their fights?” _

“No.” Jack said. He had to stop trying to investigate his husband. It was his nature to look into the past but he knew Nathan was not the same guy. Even if it was the same town, same job and same secrets….he had to trust it would not be the same with him as it was with Allison. He had to suppress the investigator in him because nothing good would come of that. “Let’s watch that game, huh? Any chance you have holograms of what is in the gun rack at the Sheriff’s department? I need to study for an exam.”

_ “I would love to help you study!! I took that test and passed with flying colors! I am a great tutor!" _

“Why?” Jack asked cautiously in case a gun rack materialized out of the wall. "Why did you take the test?"

_ “I have weapons at my disposal to protect my family. This is America, Sheriff.” _

“What kind of weapons?” Jack asked.

“ _ Well, until you pass the test I cannot tell you. However, if it will help you pass, then I will be happy to flash them at you and see if you can identify them.” _

“Thanks for making me not feel horribly alone tonight, S.A.R.A.H.” Jack said sarcastically as he was reminded that he lived in a battle station. 

_ “I am so excited we have some time to get to know each other, Sheriff.” _

“Yeah, it’s been a long week.” Jack said and looked at the TV where Nathan was looking all authoritative and beautiful while watching monkey’s fling each other around a room like it was Wrestlemania. “OK, this is a distraction. Turn that off and let’s work on the gun test.”


	31. Visitations

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 31

**Visitations**

* * *

“Morning, Henry.” Jack greeted as he pulled up to Spencer's trailer with his window rolled down. Henry had called him on the way to the office this morning saying Spencer was missing. He called Jo and had her meet him at the trailer to save time. So much for a day without incident, he barely had his shirt on when he got the call. Nathan didn't come home last night, so he was actually a little happy for a distraction and a reason to get out of the house before Zoe woke up.

“Something’s happened to Spencer.” Henry said again, trying to defend his first instinct to call the Sheriff when his employee didn’t show up or answer the phone . “I may be overreacting but in four years Spenser has  _ never  _ been late.”

“OK.” Jack said and opened the car door and watched Jo draw her gun and walk up to Spenser’s trailer. “Hey Jo! Put away your gun!”

“And walk into a potential trap? I don’t think so.” Jo said and didn’t even look at him, unwilling to take her eyes off the threat.

Jack cocked his head. He had never seen her this on edge. She dealt with everything so far with a very confident and laid back approach. Very been there, done that. The only situation she was aggressive in had been with _him_ and his arrival in Eureka. Which, he had to admit, he kind deserved. Even then, she wasn’t this….wired. 

“She’s not normally this high strung?” Henry commented as Carter’s expression told him he was thinking the same thing.

Jack shook his head. There was only one explanation, “Must have stayed up too late and hit the double Vinpressos.”

“Those things...have enough caffeine in them to kill a whale.” Henry agreed.

“I know enough to not ask if someone managed to kill a whale with coffee.” Jack said and left that statement hang in the air as Jo entered the trailer. He jogged away from Henry and up the stairs after her. Her gun was still drawn. "Jo!"

“No signs of a break in.” Jo said as she cleared the room.

“Wow. What a relief.” Jack said and tried to gauge her ‘trigger-happy’ mood. Maybe this was PTSD? God, he didn’t like throwing that around but his experience had taught him that it was always a viable option. Maybe the movie they watched had been a bit too realistic and brought on some flashbacks? He had his own list of movies he couldn’t watch for that reason. “Why don’t we start with the obvious question, which is...did you see anything last night?”

“Last night?” Henry asked as he joined them. 

“Yeah, movie night.” Jack said and really wished Henry would stay outside since he still had a raw bullet wound in his arm from where he had already been shot by the Sheriff’s Department this week. However, Henry was worried and his assistant was nowhere to be found and apparently he was prepared to protest Jack’s attempt to keep him safe by reminding him he _was_ the Forensics department. 

“Right.” Henry said as he waved his ‘badge’ at Carter and velcroed his Forensics identifier on his coveralls and went to work.

“Jo?” Jack asked and she spun on him and shined her tactical flashlight in his face. He was going to go blind this week! Between Jason’s flashy thing, S.A.R.A.H.’s mood lighting and Jo’s billion lumen flashlight he really hoped Nathan had some kind of magic eye repair device or was turned on by glasses. “Jo!” 

“What are you implying?” She asked and recognized how hostile she sounded and watched Carter squirm.

“Nothing.” Jack put out his hand to shield himself from the light beam and the thought he saw the light still go through his damned hand. Fucking Eureka! That was the Lumenator 4200 flashlight! It was in the gun rack and most definitely was lighting him up and causing eye damage. “Can you kill the flashlight?”

“I’m investigating a crime scene, following procedure.” She said and raised her light so his hand wasn’t blocking it. “Maybe you should try it sometime.”

“Can you maybe dial it down until after we figure out that there has been a crime?” Jack asked. And tried to gauge her attitude and her decision to check a Code Yellow flashlight out of the drawer. Either she had a thing for Spencer and was handling it poorly or he really fucked up somewhere between last night and this morning! He studied all night, to impress her! What the hell! 

Henry turned on the overhead light before Carter suffered irreversible damage. He picked up Spencer’s wallet and tried to get the investigation back on track.

“Obviously I can’t dust  _ that _ for prints now.” Jo said and then Henry bent down and picked up a PDA. “Or  _ that _ .”

“Well, he probably hasn’t gone too far.” Jack said. Once again, middle of the forest of Oregon was a inconvenient location if people were trying to get out of town on foot. He hoped he never had to get out of his own town someday. “His car is parked outside. No wallet. No communication device….”

“Or he was taken, by force, against his will.” Jo said as Carter bent down to look at something on the floor.

Jack looked up at her. “Ok, no more coffee for you!”

“Is that blood?” Henry asked.

Jack nodded. “Yeah, we got to find him.”

“Let’s go!” Jo said and bust out the front door before either of the men could make it seem like their decision.

“What _the hell_ is going on with her?” Jack asked. “I’ve bled more when nicked myself shaving than this. Does she have something going on with Spencer?”

“No. I  _ definitely _ would have heard about that.” Henry said as Carter stood up and looked genuinely concerned by her personality shift.

“I gotta keep an eye on her. Um, did you want to check out the trailer and call me if you find anything?”

“Will do.”

“Thanks, Henry.” Jack said and put his hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find him.”

* * *

“Yeah, he’s pulling in right now.” Beverly said as she watched Congressman Faraday pull into her driveway.

_ “Good. Beverly, I’m not going to ask you to do anything inappropriate.”  _

“Of course not, Nathan. I’m just going to keep my eyes and ears open, like you said.” Beverly said and smiled as she leaned against the window sill. 

_ “He has a tremendous amount of say over our funding. It’s all in the town's best interests.” _

“I completely understand.” Beverly said and played with the drawstring on the blinds. “Do you know what else is in the town’s best interests? You and Jack completing your required session before the D.O.D. has to file it under  _ overdue _ .”

_ “Fine. I’ll call you when I can find a break in my schedule.” _

“ _Today_ , Nathan.” She said and enjoyed taking control of the conversation more than she should. “We are out of time and have to do this  _ today _ .”

_ “I’ll call Jack, now. _ ”

“Thank you.” She said and hung up. He sounded exhausted and she knew he had worked all night to have things ready for Faraday. Tensions were high with the Congressman in town and Carter was responsible for keeping things from...well, from being Eureka. Today would be a great day for a therapy session.


	32. They're Watching

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 32

**They’re Watching**

* * *

  
  


“What’s wrong with the monkeys?” Fargo demanded. “They should be at each other’s throats but they look fine to me!”

“They  _ are _ fine. The device isn’t.” Dr. Sharat said and tried to ignore Fargo who was acting like a neurotic little chimp himself. 

“Are you trying to sabotage me?” Fargo asked. “Stark’s on his way here  _ right now _ with the Congressman.”

“I’m running diagnostics but nothing seems…”

“No buts!” Fargo yelled. “If you can’t get the job done, Dr. Sharat, I’ll find someone _who can._ ”

“You realize I don’t work for you, right?” Dr. Sharat said and shook her head. Fargo was hardly a blip on her radar right now and was just being annoying. She wondered if she should send him to get her coffee, but he clearly had enough this morning. “In fact, you work for  _ everyone else _ .”

“Now I have to tell Stark that I have nothing to show Faraday!” Fargo fretted. “If I go down for this, I’m taking you with me.”

“Fargo, I think you’re…”

“Stop making this about me!” Fargo said as he went to the door and it refused to open, then he waved at it frantically and it finally opened for him. As a parting shot he looked at her and said. “This is sabotage!”

"It's not even your project." She said and wondered how Stark put up with him. 

Fargo got out into the hall and felt like everyone was looking at him. They were all waiting for him to fail. They were probably conspiring with Larry to make a fool of him in front of Dr. Stark so he’d lose respect and his job and they could watch it all on the LiveStream surveillance feed that he gifted to them! Ingrates! No...they were jealous of him! Jealous of how close he was to Dr. Stark! He closed his eyes and steeled his nerves to call and report in. 

_ “Are we ready, Fargo?” _

Oh God, if he only know he was always ready for him. However, now wasn’t the time for thoughts like that! He tried to say what needed to be said in the most confident way possible. “Dr. Stark, I’m afraid there has been a delay.”

_ “My office, 15 minutes, I want a detailed explanation, and it better be good Fargo.” _

Fargo jumped in place as Stark hung up on him. Even on a PDA the man seemed to be capable of slamming a phone down into its cradle. He felt like everyone in the hall was looking at him now, smiling as they went past. Knowing he was going to get fired for this. Knowing their plan to get him fired worked perfectly. He looked up at the nearest camera and wondered if Larry was watching from the comfort of his desk, watching his evil plan come to fruition. He gave the camera the finger, then he screamed and exploded past them all, “What are you looking at! Why don't you people try working for a change!?”

* * *

Nathan clicked his PDA shut and wished that , just once, the most advanced scientific facility in the world filled with the smartest and most capable scientists in every field could manage to get one  _ simple fucking task _ completed on time. Even after he personally assisted on the project and ran it through several test runs, someone still managed to fuck it up. He’d have to try and get away to get back down there and fix it himself. _God dammit_! He put on his fake smile and carried on with his tour, not letting his aggravation show. “So, Congressman, as you can see, everything we do here at Global Dynamics is about pushing the boundaries…”

“Of the scientific frontier.” Faraday finished for him, “Yes, I read the brief, but we both really know what it’s about: cranking out the best war toys before our enemies do. That will prime your funding pump.”

“I know. “ Nathan said. “And our PX-319 project will revolutionize the way we engage enemies in battle.”

“So you keep telling me. How about we skip the science fair and get right to it then?” Faraday said and knew the tour was just to buy Stark some time. He wasn’t a man who cleared off a morning of his schedule to personally give guided tours of his facility, so he was doing it for a reason. Otherwise, they would be outside the room with the demonstration right now and he’d be asking for a blank check to fund this personal playground for the next year. 

“We’re preparing a simulated field test as we speak.” Nathan said with a smile. “It should be ready a little later.”

“Then I suppose we’ll see about your funding a little later.” Faraday said and enjoyed putting him on the spot. Stark had ripped through the Congressional Appropriations Committee like a tornado on every occasion and he was hoping to catch him unprepared with this surprise visit. And what a surprise, he got what he was hoping for. 

* * *

“Spencer!” 

“Spencer!” 

“Taggart, for God’s sake...pick up!” Jo hissed as her PDA continued to try and ping Taggart with no luck. She felt uneasy about this, Taggart never failed to answer her call, even when he was inside that whale that was killed with coffee. She finally hung up and asked nobody in particular. “Tag...where are you?”

Jack continued to follow a path cut in the field, “Jo? Any luck?”

“No.” She said and caught up with him. “You don’t think that…”

“Someone kidnapped Taggart?” Jack asked and she looked at him worried. Quickly he said, “Ah, no. I’m pretty confident nobody wants to take him.”

“This path is too narrow for a tractor.” Jo observed as they walked. “These crops have been flattened, not cut.”

“Help?”

They both looked up and Jack hazard a guess, “Spencer?”

“Spencer!” Jo hollered and her voice carried like a barked command.

“Help!” was accompanied by coughing.

They ran along the path until they came to a large flattened area in the middle and there was Spencer, naked and curled up with his knees to his chest. What the fuck? “Spencer!”

Jo ran to his side along with Carter who immediately took off his jacket to cover up Spencer as best he could. “Spencer? What happened?”

“I can’t.” Spencer whined. “I can’t talk about it?”

“Why not?” Jack asked as Jo pulled her gun and started to scan the perimeter. 

“They’re watching.” Spencer said and pointed to the sky.

Jo looked down at him and felt a twinge of uneasiness and increased her vigilance ten fold. Someone was out there and they were in an open field and in the worst possible defensive position.

  
Jack glanced up at the sky and couldn’t help but wonder if everyone was getting paranoid about Eureka’s highest rated surveillance show. It was only a matter of time before it stopped being fun to watch him and Nathan eye-bang each other and the realization crept in that every move  _ they _ made was also being watched by someone. He pulled out his PDA to call Henry and let him know that they found Spencer and maybe get a little help interviewing him. So much for a quiet day.


	33. They Want Something

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 33

**They Want Something**

* * *

“Spencer, what happened to your hands?” Henry asked as he washed off the blood with a water bottle and wiped them down with a clean shop rag.

“They left me here.” Spencer said and shivered.

“Who?” Henry prodded.

“I can’t…”

Jo watched Carter come back out of the tall grass and Henry walk over to him, obviously to give him his report on Spencer’s condition. She believed him, she believed _they_ were out there, unlike the skeptical Sheriff. She leaned over to Spencer and whispered, “You’re not alone.”

Henry walked over to Jack. “He’s clearly traumatized.”

“Well, maybe Beverly can reach him?” Jack offered.

“Yeah.” Henry nodded. “All right, I’ll take him there.”

“Henry, you alright?” Jack asked, hoping Henry had a hunch about what this was all about.

“No, but I will be when he is.” Henry replied.

“Keep me posted.” Jack said as he watched Henry wrap a protective arm around Spencer and lead him out of the field. He looked around to try and get a feel for all this. He wished he knew Spencer better to know if he had any agricultural artwork interests to tell if being out here naked and having a breakdown was because of something he was working on. Jo was moving again, she was still on edge and had her gun out and ready to fend off an attack. Maybe he didn’t know Spencer, but he felt he had a good feel for Jo and this was way out of character. "Jo?"

“What do you think?” Jo asked, trying to gauge where Carter fell on the friends or enemies spectrum.

“What do  _ you _ think?” Jack asked, trying to use this as a chance to gauge her on the sane or not sane spectrum.

“Well, it’s a crop.” Jo said.

“Yes?”

“And there’s a circle in it.” Jo continued.

“No.” Jack said with a smile. “I don’t care how weird this town gets, I know there is no such thing as aliens.”

“Really.” She said. _Skeptic._ He would come around when it was too late. He was of no use to her for fighting off the first wave.

“There is always a logical explanation for things like this. Like a joke, some role play thing, a scam.” Jack said and smiled at her. “Or maybe movie night was R rated? Is this you hinting that maybe there is a place in Eureka you can get your fix for some alien anal probes?”

Jo ground her teeth. “I am being serious and you’re making this about sex toys? Someone was abducted and you want to crack jokes?”

“No, you’re acting weird.” Jack said. “Because that was a test and, honestly, you failed. You’re not acting like yourself because implying you were doing some kinky shit with Spencer should have gotten a reaction out of you that wasn’t just ‘Bad Sheriff! Take this crop circle seriously!’.”

“You know me so well.” Jo said coldly and his phone rang, saving him from further discussion.

Jack hated that his phone rang at the worst damned times. “Hello? Jack Carter.”

Jo continued to scan the field, looking for anything out of place. Clearly this was going to be on her to save everyone today, Carter wasn’t seeing the proverbial threat lurking in the tall grass. 

“Oh, hey Allison…” Jack said and closed his eyes. “Yeah, that makes two today.”

Jo’s eyes darted to him. Two  _ what _ ? A pattern was emerging.

“I know, I know. You don’t want to hear about it. Nathan wants things kept under the radar. Yeah, I’m on my way.” Jack hung up and turned to Jo who seemed to be a little more calm now. Her gun was away. “Someone else has disappeared: Fargo.”

She nodded. So Fargo went AWOL, he must have seen something at GD. She needed to reconnoiter with the team. Clearly Carter was a lost cause, they needed to take this into their own hands before it was too late.

“I’m heading to GD.” Jack said then decided it was best to just leave her to work out her shit by herself. “I’ll call you with what I find out.”

* * *

Beverly finished getting dressed, making an effort to slowly zipper her skirt up as the Congressmen was watching her every move.

“Are we clean?” Faraday asked.

“ _Nothing_ about what we just did was clean.” Beverly said with a smile as she picked up her shirt off the bed.

“You know what I mean.” Faraday stood and grabbed his tie to put it back on.

“I sweep every room, every hour.” Beverly informed him and showed him the device she used. “No one can hear us.”

“Good.” Faraday said. “The Consortium believes the Artifact was excavated and moved.”

“To Eureka?” Beverly asked. 

“To Section Five.” 

“Well, even you can’t get access to that.” Beverly said and finished putting her shirt on.

“No, but Nathan Stark can.” Faraday said and her eyes lit up. Clearly Stark just that that effect on people.

“You think he’ll just take you on a tour?” Beverly asked.

“If there’s something worthwhile in it for him.” Faraday replied.

“You’ll need leverage.” Beverly said and finished buttoning up her shirt and sat down on the bed. Faraday joined her.

“That’s why I’m here, Dr. Barlow.” Faraday said and she gave him a glance knowing he was using her title for a reason. Because Stark was a client and….”You know him better than anyone.”

Beverly felt a hand on her thigh and smiled. “You’ll need to barter with the one thing he loves more than anything.”

“Jack Carter?” Faraday answered, showing he did his research before coming to Eureka.

“Science.” She said. “Stark loves to push boundaries and leave his mark, that’s pushing Jack away just as quickly as it pushed Allison away. When he’s inevitably divorced and left alone again, he’ll dive back into work and he will need funding for that. Papers have already been drawn up to end their marriage and it’s only a matter of time before the both stop avoiding the fact that they both failed at love again. Eureka accelerates learning and development in that respect as well. It's just a matter of time.”

“So his sin is pride.” Faraday said with a smile. “I heard somewhere it comes before a fall.”

Beverly smiled as he leaned in to kiss her but then the doorbell rang and she stopped him. She still had to give herself one more look over to make sure she was presentable before answering the door and he had to do the same. “Save that for later.”


	34. A Whale and a Bowl of Petunias

  
_Dissolved_   
Chapter 34   
**A Whale and A Bowl of Petunias**

* * *

“Okay Dr. Stark, I’m ready to be impressed.”

“You will not be disappointed, Congressman.” Nathan said as he walked through the lobby of Section 3 with their guest and someone came up for an approval signature. He scanned it quickly and shook his head, that damned whale was rearing its ugly head again. He signed off on an approval request for samples of it and then looked up to see Jack coming into the lobby. Last thing he needed was something to be wrong. “Allison, could you…”

Allison turned and saw him pointing, so she followed his finger and saw Carter looking like he was going to intercept them. “Yeah, OK, I’ll catch up.”

Jack was impressed with how quickly Allison could cover ground in those heels as well as how quickly Nathan could deploy her to stop him from ruining his tour. They had one thing in common still: their love for Global Dynamics. “Hey, Allison….”

“How’s Spencer?”

“He’s found. How’s Fargo?” Jack replied and looked over Allison's head to watch Nathan walk by with his guest. The Congressman gave him a look over and smile. He doubted that was about capitalizing on potential votes. It was split second appraisal of first wife and current husband and Jack knew there wasn't anyone who would compare them side by side and not ask why Nathan picked _him_. Instead of letting his self esteem take a hit, he took it as a victory that one more person dismissed him as just ordinary. Especially a politician who undoubtedly had a ton of respect and fear for the almighty Dr. Stark and would look at him and think he was just the benefactor of nepotism; a weakness in Nathan's armor, instead of the chain link fabric underneath. Good.

“The last person to see Fargo was Dr. Sharat and he missed a critical meeting with Stark. That’s not like him.” Allison informed him and tried to get his attention back on her. She didn't like how his posture changed when he locked eyes with the Congressmen. The did not need him challenging Faraday the way he had gone after Jason Anderson. She needed him out of GD, now. Calling him was a mistake, she was just trying to find Fargo before the demonstration.

It wasn’t like _anyone_ to miss a meeting with Dr. Stark, well except for him. He got another glance from the Congressman as Nathan led him into some lab. Yeah, that guy knew who he was and Nathan knew he was going to use it against him somehow. He was going to have to be strictly business with this guy around. “Spencer was acting odd too. So is Jo. I need to talk to Dr. Sharat.”

“No.” Allison didn’t mean to react that way and it only made Carter look for an avenue of escape to get around her. “That’s going to have to wait. She’s kind of in the middle of something important.”

“Well, so am I, and you called me so…” Jack answered and slipped by her and walked straight for the lab.

Allison watched him dart off towards the lab the Congressman and Nathan just disappeared into. Carter didn’t let any detail get by him, that was for certain. He didn’t need any help putting 2 and 2 together, seeing Nathan with Faraday, knowing she was trying to stop him, being told Sharat was too busy for him….all pointed a neon arrow right to the lab door he needed to go through. Well shit.

* * *

“By decades’s end, wars will be fought from command screens such as this one.” Nathan said with a wave and heard the lab door open and looked over to see Jack arrive. He wasn't surprised, he just thought Ally would know better than to allow him into GD at the worst possible time. Allison gave him an apologetic look. If he wasn’t so stressed he’d be a little more happy about Jack’s presence here, but his presence indicated something was wrong. “There will no longer be a need for massive troops on the ground.”

Jack watched the monitor. There was a PX-319 label in the upper left hand corner and a display of a CGI tank in a warzone somewhere.

“Dr. Sharat?” Nathan said, giving her the go ahead to start the simulation. Then he continued with his speech. “The PX-319 transmits a low frequency signal that delivers a subconscious message of fear and paranoia to the amygdala deep in the brain, causing the enemies to turn against one another in a violent rage as this demonstration will show.”

Jack watched the window coverings roll up and realized now that this was the lab that Nathan was working in last night. The monkeys were a dead give away, but... maybe it wasn’t the same monkeys? These guys looked like they were having fun wearing their cute little cargo shorts instead of wanting to rip each other apart and make clothes from the fur of their enemies.

“Just...one moment.” Dr. Sharat said as she tried to get the PX-319 online.

Faraday watched the monkeys wave at him and snorted, “ _ A violent rage? _ _ This  _ is worth 80 million dollars?”

Nathan gave him a tight smile and excused himself to go over to the computer panel. This was working last night, what the hell went wrong? “Dr. Sharat?”

“The satellite’s telemetry must still be off.” She explained.

“ _ Still _ ?” Nathan asked. When did that happen?

“Fargo didn’t tell you?” Sharat asked.

Nathan felt the violent rage coming on but not one from the PX-319, but from Fargo, PhD. “We had a meeting. He didn’t show up.”

“Just give me a few minutes.” She said and kept trying to make adjustments. 

“That’s alright, Dr. Sharat.” Faraday said and tried to not sound too happy about it. “I’ve seen enough.”

Nathan closed his eyes and envisioned throwing Fargo into that damned whale carcass and throwing them both into that hole in Section 14.

“Dr. Stark? A word?” Faraday said and left the room.

Jack tried to give Nathan an encouraging smile as he followed the Congressman out, but he could see he was focused on containing his anger. It was OK, he had his own work to do. “Dr. Sharat? I understand you spoke with Fargo this morning?”

“The man has lost his mind. If you find him, shoot him.” Sharat said and kept trying to adjust the satellite.

“OK, I take that as a yes.” Jack said and his cell phone rang again, at the worst time. Was there some kind of project here that made phones ring exactly at the most dramatic time for interruption? Like the Screenwriters Convenient Interruption Machine? That would be more likely to drive someone nuts than this PX-319 thing. “Thanks for your time. Nice monkeys.”

Allison ran after him, she needed to make sure he didn’t go after Nathan right now. She needed to fix her mistake of calling him here but she was still getting used to how fast Carter moved. 

“Go for Carter.” Jack said as he answered his phone. He was getting tired of the run around and no answers and....“Whoa. Whoa! Vincent _did what_?”

Allison caught up and waved her hand as Jack hung up. He didn’t catch her dismissive wave because he was watching Nathan and Faraday walk around the terraced walkway together. 

“Perfect, Vincent just…” Jack said as he read Nathan's body language and knew he was being put in an uncomfortable position. He let his words trail off as he watched but forced himself to look away, Nathan was a big boy and could take care of himself. He made a living dealing with politicians and could handle himself just fine. He had to let him. He suddenly realized Allison was waving at him and caught on that this was the ‘don’t share, don’t want to know’ wave. “Yeah, you don’t want to hear it.”

“I don’t.”

Jack pulled out his PDA. Well, he was adaptable. He could relay information without telling her directly. Acting like this was exclusively  _ his  _ problem was really starting to piss him off. “Jo? I need you to get down to Cafe Diem. Vincent disappeared during the lunch rush.”

Allison glared at him. He thought he was being cute, but she needed plausible deniability when there was a US Congressmen walking around. GD needed to be unaware of anything wrong.

“Jo?” Jack said after hearing no confirmation. 

Allison looked at him as his expression went from annoyed to concerned.

“Jo? Come in, _ over. _ ” It was a desperate attempt to hail her, he hoped that she was just pissed at him about ‘protocol’ this morning because he refused to say ‘over’ during communique. Fine. Fine. He’d comply this one time. However, that didn’t get an answer either. “Okay, today is officially Missing Persons Day.”

Allison crossed her arms and frowned at him.

Jack gave her a curt smile. She didn’t care that people were missing only that this was happening when she told him to not schedule any incidents this weekend. Like he had any control of that! Like anyone had any control over anything around here. So he might have been a little bitchy when he said, “But _you don’t want to hear about it_.”

“A day or two of quiet wasn’t an unreasonable request.” Allison replied, not appreciating his tone that implied she didn’t care.

Jack started walking towards the elevator as he was ready to leave GD, when he literally ran into Nathan while coming around the corner. “Shit, sorry…didn’t mean to cause another incident none of you want to know about.”

“Actually, I was looking for you.” Nathan said. He just finished a conversation with Faraday about Section Five, the man was trying to use funding as a bartering tool to see the restricted area for himself. Thankfully Beverly called and interrupted the Congressman’s attempt to shove his way into GD’s most secure location. Unfortunately she wanted her session _right now_ and he’d take it if that meant buying time for Sharat to fix the PX-319. However, Jack was in full investigative mode and was not going to be thrilled about an interruption of his work. 

“Well, that physical interaction will have to satisfy you for a bit, I’m working.” Jack said and felt like it was a good enough way to excuse himself, but Nathan was still blocking his exit.

“I gathered.” Nathan said and could feel Jack’s hostility. “However, Beverly called.”

“Oh, great.” Jack said and put his hands in his pockets. Maybe someone really did share information around here. Sucks it had to be Beverly. “Does she have an update on Spencer?”

“No?” Nathan said, as this was the first he was hearing about Spencer being with Beverly. He hoped the Congressman didn’t overhear anything. 

“Oh that’s right, _you don’t want to hear about it_.” Jack rolled his eyes. “What did she want?”

“What do you think?” Nathan asked and Jack looked to him with a look of exasperation and before he could protest he added. “We don’t exactly have a choice. We have to get it over with.”

“Right  _ now _ ?” Jack asked. “You with your monkey problem and me with my alien abduction problem….” 

Nathan watched Jack have one of his ‘Carter moments’ where he froze and allowed his brain to connect the dots of information he gathered. “What? Tell me you just figured out where we can find Fargo so I can stuff him in my trunk and let those monkeys drive my car into the lake.”

“ _ Jesus _ .” Jack said surprised and snapped out of his thoughts. Apparently Nathan was having a  _ really _ bad day. “Easy with the premeditated murder plans.”

“Why? Want plausible deniability when a whale washes up on shore with a BMW and an idiot in its belly?”

“There is a lot to unpack there.” Jack said and took his hand out of his pocket to hold up a finger then tapped Nathan on the chest with it. “Let’s just focus on the ‘sorry I can’t keep  _ your _ assistant from running away from _ you _ because _ you  _ scare him and he obviously didn’t want to be a victim to your oddly intricate and disturbing mob hit murder fantasies’, however it’s not my job to pretend like GD doesn’t cause all the towns problems.”

“Yeah, it is.” Nathan said. “Please read your contract, Jack.”

“Then maybe you should ask me instead of sending your ex-wife?” Jack snapped back.

“You answer to her. If you answer to me, it puts a spotlight on our marriage.” Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Jack, I’m tired. My project failed. Our budget is in jeopardy. I don’t want to fight about this, I just want to get Beverley off my back and have one less thing to worry about.”

“OK.” Jack said and forgot about what Nathan wanted to do with Fargo and how Allison rubbed him the wrong way and got back to his little moment of 'maybe this is all related let me run it by someone smart'. “Let’s talk about Zoe’s play.”

“I promised I would be there.” Nathan let his hand fall from his face. “That’s  _ next _ week. I know I didn't miss it last night.”

“Just hear me out.” Jack rubbed his hands together. “It’s A Midsummer Night’s  _ Invasion _ . Complete with aliens, tentacles and a device I might have borrowed from Putnum in order to create a joke PSA. You know Putnum? The kid who creates holograms in order to craft his ‘artistic vision’. Any chance, he’s sent you the plans for that device? Any chance it’s making people _think_ there is a real invasion? Like the 'War of the Worlds' broadcast did back in the day?”

“The only thing that anyone is going to think, because of that device, is that you’ve shoved a suction cup tentacle up your ass and got it stuck.”

Jack bit his lip. “Oh? You saw my PSA?”

“Yes, of course. The product was uploaded to the EuCloud after you filmed, Putnam edited and finished it, and had it in my inbox this morning. He’s trying to sell me on this device and get an internship here.” Nathan said. “You were cute, but that is definitely going to be something you never live down.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, town full of geniuses, the implied joke is the best route to go. You don’t have to spell it out for them.” Nathan said and squeezed his arm and winked. “Should have left the tentacle revealed until the calendar spread. Could have been a perfect censorship piece, but you just had to whip it out early.”

Jack sighed. He was a little less angry now, a flicker of a smile from Nathan really did a lot to take the edge off.

“So can we go to Beverly’s and not give her anything on us?” 

“So the EuCloud…” Jack asked, he wasn’t quite done chasing this lead yet. 

“Eureka Cloud, electronic just like our trash cans. It won’t beam ideas into anyone’s head.” Nathan said. “You’re thinking of the PX-319 which  _ is also _ not beaming things into anyone’s head.”

“OK.” Jack sighed. “I got nothing then.” 

“You have an appointment with our therapist and she’s probably watching us on the surveillance live stream right now, so we have no excuses for not going to see her.”

“You have to shut that down.” Jack said with a shake of the head. “It is _such a bad idea_ and you had 1200 people watching you play with monkeys last night.”

“You need to find Fargo in order for me to do that, so I can fire him.”

“Oh come on.” Jack said. “He’s probably just paranoid from watching the GD Show too much. Probably feels like the monkey in his own foray into reality TV.”

“Still going to fire him.”

“What happened to pushing the boundaries of science and pushing bountiful buttons?” Jack asked. 

“He killed a whale and that is an animal rights nightmare that will only end when I serve him up for punishment just like he served up his Vinspresso for Fudgey to drink.” Nathan said and patted Jack’s arm and turned to leave. “Ok, let’s go.”

“ _ What _ ?”

Nathan stopped and turned to look at him, placing both his hands on his arms and smiled at him, “Jack. I love you. I really do. I love our banter. I love these conversations that let me see what a chaotic thunderstorm of thoughts are lighting up in your brain, however we need to go to therapy,  _ now _ .”

Jack watched him take his hands back, turn with the grace a man his size shouldn’t have and walk towards the elevator. He stood there with his mouth open. “Nathan! Who the hell is Fudgey?”

Every employee in Section 3 within earshot stopped what they were doing and looked at the Sheriff, mortified. Then four people burst into tears and the rest gave him the coldest stare for his lack of respect for a sweet soul taken way too soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're asking yourself where the hell this whale came from and why that's now our episode's running joke, the answer is that this is just the dumb shit I do.


	35. Oh No, Not Again

_Dissolved_

Chapter 35 

**Oh No, Not Again**

* * *

  
  
  
Beverly settled into her chair to begin the session. She had been watching the surveillance feed so she knew when to call Nathan and interrupt his discussion with Faraday. The Congressman was pissed, but she assured him that his attempt to put Nathan in a corner on the Section 5 issue was not going to go his way. So she made a move to salvage the situation and assured him she had a much better plan in mind. For now, though, they had a therapy session and Jack and Nathan were clearly thrilled about the interruption of their day. 

She noted Nathan was on the end of the couch, twisted slightly with his elbow resting on the armrest and his head resting on his closed fist. Normally he would sprawl over most of the couch, asserting his dominance with just the space he ate up with his body alone. His position said that his mind was occupied, he was controlling his thoughts and actions, but he wasn’t too worried. At least, not about her. Jack sat beside him, perched in the middle, with his knee touching his husband’s but his posture saying he was anxious about this situation. He was eager to go, poised to jump to his feet given the chance, on guard and definitely not going to relax. Not surprising considering he used to be married to a psychologist. "This is a very informal introduction session. I just want to get to know you both, as a couple, and start our relationship off right. This will appease the D.O.D. and open up the door for a weekly session. However, today, we’re just going to talk. So what would _you_ like to talk about?" 

"Nathan's sperm." Jack answered immediately. He leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his hands. 

"That's probably something better directed at a molecular gastronomist than a therapist. Vincent would be more than happy to discuss flavor profiles…" Beverly said and Jack waved his hands saying she wasn’t understanding him. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Not taste, _waste_ ". Jack said. "Or lack thereof."

"Ok. So this is about his generous donations to science?" Beverly clarified.

" _Generous?”_ Jack bolted upright and slapped Nathan in the chest with the back of his hand. “How big is this sperm bank? _Fort Knox_?"

Nathan sighed and looked at Jack. At least they weren't going to have to worry about avoiding real therapy. Jack’s odd tangents would certainly keep Beverly busy, and he really really loved this man for it. He couldn’t show his appreciation though, so he just kept his poker face and looked like the husband tired of being nagged. 

"So, Jack, you have a problem with Nathan's donation?" Beverly prodded.

"Damn right I do." Jack slapped his hands on his knees and looked at her.

"Why is that?"

" _What is wrong with you people_ ? How is this a _me_ problem?" 

"Shouldn't you be proud of him for being such an exemplary specimen of mankind? So much so that renowned scientists want to study his genetic makeup?"

"Yes. They can do it by opening up their 'Live Smart, Eureka!' calendar and studying the old fashioned way and harvesting their own contributions." Jack said and threw himself back into the couch and crossed his arms. Beverly was eating it all up, every move he made, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she realized he studied body language for his job as well. No, she didn’t really know him yet and he was going to keep it that way. 

"So you feel possessive of his reproductive potential?" Beverly asked.

"This isn't the doomsday vault, his seed isn't going to save the human race from extinction after a nuclear holocaust." Jack replied and she seemed amused.

"You don't know that." Beverly countered.

"Great. You all really do think he's some kind of God and will actually repopulate earth with him." Jack rolled his eyes and looked to his side where Nathan simply shrugged and smiled. 

"Jack, why _wouldn't_ you want that?" Beverly asked. 

"I'm selfish, OK? I don't want to share." Jack admitted and toyed with his wedding ring, rolled it around on his finger to show he might be insecure about his marriage because his husband was super hot, brilliant beyond measure and probably should be cloned.

"Is it about sharing?". She asked. "Like how you _shared your ex-wife_ with other men?"

"Woah! _What the fuck,_ Beverly!" Jack stopped what he was doing and couldn’t help but react. That was her intention but...holy shit that came out of left field!

"Your ex wife cheated on you, didn't she?" Beverly asked softly and leaned forward, a move to get closer. To show she was sympathetic, to show she understood his real reason for being possessive of his spouse.

"Yes, but you made it sound like some kink thing." Jack said and wiggled back into his spot on the couch, brushing up against Nathan for a touch of security. He hated talking about his marriage to Abby, he couldn’t help but want to get away from the spotlight on that.

"Does your mind always go for the ‘kink thing’?" Beverly asked and turned her head a little, indicating a sympathetic ear was listening. Jack squirmed more.

"Yes. Apparently I love radioactive dick, tentacles, and delicious perfect sperm.” Jack huffed and crossed his arms again and then looked at the bookshelves behind her. “Can you please tell Nathan to stop holding the sperm hostage?"

"Are you having problems with your sex life?' Beverly asked Nathan.

"No. I don't want him to die.". Nathan replied. "I'm not withholding sex, he won't take my insurance out of some stupid show of loyalty to his Deputy."

"So this has absolutely nothing to do with your desire to have children?" Beverly knew Nathan, she knew how to go directly for the punch to the gut. It also explained why Jack had no insurance, which was an incredibly dumb reason. Well, he was loyal to a fault: noted.

Nathan glared at her. "My sessions with Ally are off limits."

"Wait.” Jack said, turned his attention to Nathan and unfolded his arms. "This is _about kids_?"

"No, it's about _you_ being unreasonable about scientific discovery." Nathan gave him a sideways glance.

"Oh no, we're not circling back around to my established problems with everything dangerous around here. Do...you want kids?"

"I have two."

"Yeah, but they weren’t made with your own perfect genetic material."

"I think this is a discussion for later." Nathan said. 

"Like when?" Jack asked. 

Beverly smiled. "Go ahead, Nathan. There is no shame in admitting your marriage is too new and too difficult right now to add children to the equation. "

Jack looked at her as she said it. That was a repeat from a prior session. This was something he and Allison discussed? That did kinda put the whole sperm donation thing in a new light, the super bright flashlight that Jo had shined on it the other day. The sperm was a way to get back at Allison, which was pretty petty but really showed how hurt Nathan was at the time. He looked to Nathan and hated him being put on the spot like that and Beverly poking at old wounds. He knew Nathan wanted a family, but until last week he didn’t realize it was an option for two guys to make kids with contributions from both. Now, he just accepted so much that he assumed it was possible. He assumed Nathan knew how. He put his hand on Nathan’s and turned to him on the couch. Time to knock this out of the park because he wasn’t going to let Beverly nail his husband with a fastball. "I agree it's a bad time, I mean I was the one who screamed about wanting a divorce on Monday. However, yeah...I think you're a great Dad and I love you're in Zoe's life and treat her like your own. I haven't really considered having another kid but I mean...of course that's a possibility. I don't doubt you can figure out a way to do it either, or probably already have, but I want fresh sperm. I don't want some old model out of some crusty bank vault, I want the product of the guy I'm with right now and not two years before I knew he existed. Your amazing, viable sperm is coming directly from the source, not some vat full of older product. I want mine right off the production line."

Nathan looked at him and then to Beverly. She was shocked and he had to admit, he was too. 

"I screwed up the first time, I missed so much with Zoe. I was young and Abby and I weren't ready to be parents. We thought we were, but when you're 20 you think you have everything figured out. I missed so much and my kid missed so much. I want to be there and have my shit worked out before I do this again...but I would do it. Absolutely. You _are_ perfect, but I would really like to make that future _with you_ instead of having Eureka make something out of your plentiful donations _for us_."

Nathan couldn't help but start thinking about the ways to merge their genetic material.

"Not right now.". Jack said, knowing that look. "If you come home with a baby you made at work, I'm going to be pissed. If Eureka makes us a baby....it's probably going to sound like girl Fargo and we already have one of those."

Nathan didn’t know what to say, and he thought that Jack’s statement actually made his brain have a misfire because there was a weird sound in his ear. Then he realized that the sound he was hearing wasn’t the gears in his head grinding, but something outside. He leaned around Jack and looked out the window and realized it was a helicopter. “Oh _shit!_ ”

Jack watched Nathan spring off the couch from a position that he shouldn’t be able to do that from. Must be the long legs that give him that agility. He had incredible calves and thighs. He looked up as Nathan cursed again and then went for the door. “Uh…”

Nathan opened the door just in time to see Congressman Faraday coming down the stairs with his luggage. “Congressman…..”

“I told you, Stark, I’ve seen enough.” Faraday said as he continued to walk down the stairs with his eyes on the front door. Seeing the look of panic on Stark’s face was well worth changing plans. Beverly did know him pretty well and she was a very clever manipulator. He was glad she wasn’t in politics. “You need an ally on the defense committee and I came here ready to be that ally. But you need to show me something worthwhile and what I saw was a joke.”

“Congressman...the PX-319..”

Faraday put his hand on the doorknob and paused. “Was like something that should have been in a Marx Brothers movie instead of a state of the art science facility. I’m sorry, but I’m not signing my name to a budget proposal when _that_ is the best you can show me. Goodbye, Dr. Stark.”

Nathan watched him disappear through the front door, turned to look at Beverly and said, “Excuse me.”

Jack watched Nathan disappear and looked through the open door to the other room where Spencer was sitting in the dining room with Henry. Spenser looked like he had seen a ghost. He was about to excuse himself as well, to go ask what scared the kid so bad, but then he heard Beverly clear her throat and had to look back at her. “Uh….so we good? Til next week? I feel...well I’m still not happy about the sperm thing.”

“Yes, we can continue next week. I feel like we opened up a little.” She said. 

“Cool.” Jack said and stood up. He looked out the window to see Nathan pleading with the Congressman to not get on the helicopter. He must have offered him something, because they were suddenly waving off the chopper and Nathan was leading the guy over to the parking lot with his hand on his shoulder. A hand wave of assurance meant they had moved on from the monkey show to something more enticing. Probably whatever the guy was asking for earlier, whatever got Nathan all defensive up on the mezzanine. 

“I’ll be happy to tell the D.O.D. you were cooperative and we’re addressing some residual issues. I feel, with regular sessions, we can help you both work through your marriage problems. ” Beverly said and got the Sheriff’s attention back. The last thing she wanted was him interrupting Stark offering up Section 5 to Faraday. 

“Yeah, we have a lot of baggage. Most of it is still at his other house.” Jack nodded as she smiled at him. A smile that felt a little...devious. Nothing she was doing was making him suspicious, but the timing of her emergency session and the fact that the Congressman was staying here and could walk right past the office door at the right time….felt too convenient. He doubted there was a Screenwriter’s Convenient Interruption Device at play here and felt more like they had been played. Then he was interrupted by Henry running to the door and filed that away for later. 

“Spencer just bolted out the back door.” Henry informed him. “I couldn’t stop him. He has been sitting here mumbling for an hour and then he just said, ‘Their leader is here’ and ran.”

Jack hurried to the door and remembered he was still not released from the session. “Hey, thanks for your help Beverly. Talk more about that sperm next week? Got to go catch your naked patient, OK?”

“Yes, thank you Sheriff.” She said as Jack and Henry left and she wondered what Spencer meant by ‘Their leader is here.’ He had said something early about ‘He picked Eureka for a reason, he can’t be trusted’ and now she wondered if the ‘he’ Spencer was referencing was Faraday. She needed him back so she could spin this as him referring to Stark. She couldn't do much with Henry sitting there with him earlier and was afraid to try and bring out more information. She wished she knew what set him off or clued him in. Clearly she wasn’t suspect, but it was going to take some work to keep it that way and not ruin the carefully laid plans to gain access to the Artifact.


	36. Outsiders

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 35

**Outsiders**

  
  


* * *

“There you are.” Jack said as he walked into his office and saw Jo double checking the gun vault. Well, that was a good indicator she was feeling like herself. “I’ve been trying to raise you all morning.”

“I’ve got it under control.” Jo said.

Jack laughed. ‘Under Control’ was the last thing anyone could say about this town. He went to his desk and took off his leather jacket. “Really? Because every time I turn around somebody has gone missing. First Spencer, then we find him and Fargo goes missing. Now Vincent. I was worried you joined them, but…I’d like to see the person who could abduct you. Certainly not someone from this planet.”

“Look, I know, and I know what needs to be done.” Jo saw him turn around confused. “What I don’t know is why you insist on telling me how to do it.”

“What is your problem today?” Jack asked. It wasn't his imagination, they were really working well together! Yesterday! What the hell went wrong?

“My problem is you.” She said and Carter looked shocked. “Sheriff Cobb treated me like a partner, not an appendage. When something goes wrong around here, people look to me. They don’t know you, they don’t trust you.”

“Then that’s because you don’t trust me.” Jack said defensively. And here he had been oversharing with her to gain her trust! Dammit! 

“No.” She corrected him. “It’s because they don’t trust Stark and they sure as hell aren’t going to trust his handpicked Sheriff who happens to be into sex toys and counting all the sperm he can’t have for himself.”

“OK, so you’re still pissed you didn’t get my job and right now I really don’t care. Jo, I thought we were past this! We were working well together, but you are the one who mislead me into thinking that when we clearly have a trust issue. And by the way, Nathan didn’t get me this job. I was assigned here after I ended up stranded here because of my runaway teenage daughter who didn’t want me to divorce Nathan. He took his job to follow me here.”

“Lot of coincidences, almost hard to believe.”

“Fine.” Jack said. “File that under shit we sort out later, right now we have people to find and we need to work together. OK? Are you with me?”

Jo took a deep breath and said, “All right, we’ll work together.”

  
  


“Good.” Jack said and asked, “So we’re OK?”

“Yeah, we’re OK.”

Jack turned back to his desk to get his coat. “Good, because I don’t have any leads or ideas on what’s causing this. Spencer took off running out of Beverly’s house after saying ‘their leader is here’, whatever that means. Henry is looking for him. Meanwhile Fargo missed a meeting with his hero Dr. Stark who wants to fire him for some whale incident that you’re going to have to fill me in on. Oh, and Vincent vanished during the lunch rush. Two very uncharacteristic things for them, from what I know. I mean not the whale thing, the missing his meeting thing, for Fargo. Were you able to get a hold of Taggart? I could really use his tracking skills...”

Jo watched him turn and his eyes go wide as the butt of her rifle cracked him in the head. He crumpled to the floor, unconscious. “Like I said, I’ve got it under control.”

* * *

“Nathan, I want you to get your funding but I’m not going to rubber stamp a multi-billion dollar budget like my predecessors have. I can’t, in good conscience, support something I have never seen. It’s that simple.” Faraday said and Stark looked him in the eye and he could tell he was having to swallow his pride on this one, ,maybe compromise his ethics a little. _Good._

Nathan felt bile raising in his throat as the elevator descended to section 5. He already checked in to see if the PX-319 was functional and it was still offline, leaving him no choice but to show the Congressman something that would undoubtedly get him his funding. The Artifact was something he wanted to keep as secret as possible to the outside world, lest it get transferred somewhere unqualified hands could study it. The damned thing simultaneously fascinated him and scared the shit out of him and he knew there wasn't anyplace else in this world that could manage it as well as GD. 

_ “Welcome to Section Five” _ The elevator announced as it stopped and the doors opened.

“We’re doing the right thing, Dr. Stark.” Faraday said as he stepped off the elevator.

“I’m counting on it.” Nathan said, reminding the politician that this was not a decision that he took lightly, that admission to Section 5 was bought with a promise of funding for all of GD. 

_ “Step onto the grid for identity verification.” _ The computer announced.

Nathan watched a light scan Faraday and the security guard give the thumbs up. The light went out and they continued towards the door.

“That’s the radiation symbol.” Faraday said and pointed at the alarming decal on the door.

“Once you enter the chamber you breach containment.” Nathan said and hoped he could scare him. “You’ll have fifteen seconds to view the Artifact any longer we’ll exceed exposure limits.”

“You’re not going in with me?”

“We could only afford one suit.” Nathan quipped and looked him in the eye. 

Faraday laughed, leave it to Stark to remind him about funding right now. He went into a room where a suit was hanging up and a tech assisted him into it while Stark went to some other room. As soon as he was in the suit, the tech ran out of the room. He proceeded thru the only other door in the chamber and emerged in a hexagonal hallway. He started to walk to the end when he heard Stark’s voice over the intercom.

“Opening the doors now.” Nathan said and pressed the button to open the chamber door. The glow of the Artifact could be seen around the suited man. “Our tests have confirmed it is terrestrial in origin. We just can’t figure out who created it.”

“Oh, my God.” Faraday said as his eyes took in something....out of this world. 

Nathan smirked. “That’s one theory.”

Faraday stared at it and felt himself overwhelmed with emotion. It was beautiful but deadly, it was incredible.

Nathan pressed the button and closed the door and hoped to God he made the right decision. He rationalized the cost by telling himself without funding, Global would be unequipped to manage the Artifact or anything else, and it could be shipped anywhere and he would loose access to it. He hoped he chose wisely.


	37. Occam's Razor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the chapters get shorter on the weekends and mainly contain reiterated dialogue from the show with a little expanding. I figured it was the best place for my filler episodes, give me time to write a little more when I have time during the week. Thanks for sticking with me.:)

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 37

**Occam's Razor**

* * *

“Carter?”

Jack winced and didn't open his eyes. His head was pounding. He reached up with his hand to touch it and find out why and there was something sticky on his forehead. God, he hoped that was blood.

“Carter, wake up.”

He realized he wasn't going to get a reprieve so he slowly lowered his hand, opened his eyes and blinked. Everything was blurry, but then he saw something cylindrical coming at his head and he reacted, sweeping the leg out from under his attacker and then pouncing on him. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Henry demanded as Carter pinned him to the floor. 

“What am  _ I doing _ ?" Jack asked and looked to the damned tree that Henry had been holding over him. “Why are you bringing the forest in here with you?”

“I found it out by the crop circle.” Henry explained. “I think Spencer spent the whole night rolling it over the fields to make them.”

“That explains why his hands were so messed up.” Jack said and winced, then reached up to touch his head again to figure out how messed up he was. "Doesn't explain why he did it naked."

“It’s getting a little difficult to breathe...” Henry said and groaned. “With you camped out on my diaphragm.”

“Right.” Jack said and got off him and staggered back a step, before steadying himself. “Sorry.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah.” Jack said as Henry shoved the log out of the way. He tried to remember the last thing he saw. Well...shit. “Jo. It was Jo.”

“Jo hit you?” Henry asked incredulously.

“Yeah, with the butt of a MPS auto-assault 12 gauge shotgun.” Jack said and sat down. Then he thought about it again. “Or maybe it was a model 50 tactical-takedown rifle? Shit, I’m never going to pass the test.”

Henry took out a handkerchief and was going to give it to Carter to wipe some of the blood off his head when Carter grabbed an electronic key off Jo’s desk.

“Oh no.” Jack said and jumped out of his chair and clicked the button. The gun safe dropped from the ceiling. It was empty “ _ Oh no _ .”

“Don’t tell me that it was filled with weapons.”

“No. No it wasn’t.” Jack said softly as he walked around the case to verify everything was gone.

“You’re lying to me, aren't you?” Henry asked.

“Big time.” Jack said and realized his day just got way worse. Missing people was one thing, a rogue Deputy in possession of the entire Sheriff's Department arsenal was way  _ way _ worse.

“What’s going on?” Henry asked. “This seems a little overboard for a 9-1-1 call for Spencer streaking through the suburbs, especially considering how often Taggart is _au naturale._ ”

"I wish I knew!". Jack said. "I thought Jo and I were really getting to know each other, she was helping me study for the gun test, and then today she is super aggressive and resentful! She said Sheriff Cobb treated her like a partner not an appendage and I don't know where that came from? I really counted on her help with Jason Anderson and she saved our asses and liked it and then she's pissed the next day about me stealing her job?"

"Cobb never treated her like a partner.". Henry scoffed. "Cobb was military intelligence and she was special forces. He expected her to take orders and not ask him questions. Most of the time the orders were to let GD stew in their own mess and only investigate enough to threaten them with calling the D.O.D with the evidence of their screw up. Cobb handled that, he made Jo do the grunt work and write tickets."

"Really?". Jack said. "Then where the hell did that come from?"

"Honestly, it sounds like a line from a movie.". Henry said and then looked over at Jack's desk. "Or a Live Smart,Eureka PSA about where you shouldn't put  _ your appendage _ ."

"So you've seen my PSA?” Jack asked curiously. Everything moved fast around here. “I just did that last night?"

"I'm mayor."

"Oh.". Jack said. That was a cool bit of info but it didn't explain why he saw the PSA. "You know, you might be onto something about that movie."

"Oh?"

“Well, let’s see.” Jack said and started to count off things on his fingers. “Spencer seems to think aliens have landed. Vincent and Fargo went missing and Taggart didn’t answer his phone. Jo is gone...well she’s gone G.I. Joe”

“You think they're all together?”

“I think they  _ were _ together at movie night and something happened.” Jack said and then threw out the only thing he kept hearing mentioned. “Maybe Fargo killed a whale?”

“That was earlier this week.” Henry said. “My God rest his soul.”

Jack didn’t want to admit he had no idea that happened under his watch. Seemed like big news. Then again he was having a hard time packing a whole lifetime into one week and remember it wasn’t even over yet. “Either that or we’re being invaded by aliens?”

Henry looked up at the gun case to get a mental inventory of everything taken and Carter reached out to grab his arm. He didn't want to tell Carter he passed the gun test as well, mainly since he was part of the Sheriff's Department as forensics and coroner, but also was replied on for gun repairs. 

“Henry, tell me you don’t believe it’s aliens.”

“No, I believe in Occam’s Razor.” Henry said and saw Carter look like that wasn’t much better than aliens. “It’s the basis for methodological reductionism.”

“Ok, yeah?” Jack said. “I've heard it mentioned by a fellow Marshall once but we were really not in a position for me to ask what that actually meant at the time...so can you run that by me in your terms?”

“OK. Given two equally predictive theories, you choose the one which has fewer assumptions.” Henry explained. “So a tree has fallen in the forest after a storm. The first hypothesis holds that the tree was blown down by the storm. The second rival hypothesis claims that the storm forced an alien spaceship to crash into that tree. See?”

“No.” Jack said. That clarified nothing. Especially in Eureka. “I need to look closer at Spencer’s trailer.”

“I’ll go.” Henry said. “You’re the US Marshall, you’re better equipped to handle finding missing people. I’m better equipped to find the needle in the haystack in my assistant's trailer that explains what happened to them last night.”

“OK, just be careful. With Spencer still missing it’s possible the heavily armed group of people are out looking for him. He’s the member of their team they want back.”

"Comforting thought."

"See if you can figure out what movie they watched.". Jack said. "Maybe that will help us figure out what comes next? 


	38. It's Not What You Think

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 38

**It’s Not What You Think**

* * *

As Jack walked out of the Sheriff’s Office with Henry he stopped in front of their vehicles and just felt like something wasn’t adding up. There were fresh tire marks in the parking spot Jo’s car usually occupied, and in the street from where Jo had peeled out of there in a hurry. It made him think about his own run in with Jason Anderson because he had nothing else to go on except evidence of his own actions out on Old Post Road. He remembered how she had stood by his side when he walked though his own investigative techniques and tried to piece in the memories he lost. He was the crazy one then, so he had to repay the favor and believe there was an outside influence at work here. He had to start thinking like Jo. “Hold on a sec, Henry.”

“Did you see something?” He asked.

“No, I just….” Jack didn’t want to admit he wasn’t exactly trusting of Beverly and didn’t think of her as a reliable witness. Henry, however, had been by Spencer’s side while he was at the therapist’s house. He was a better witness. He pointed to the black tire marks and said, “Occam’s razor.”

Henry looked around the Jeep at the tire marks and then back to Jack. He picked up on things fast, but still thought differently than anyone he was used to dealing with. He waited, Jack was piecing something together to submit to him and he had seen enough of his work to know it was worth a brief delay on the investigation at Spencer’s.

“What’s more likely?” Jack said. “That a group of friends at movie night conspire to ruin the weekend when I get the orders to keep things quiet because of the Congressmen’s visit, thus making me look incapable or...Nathan’s paranoid machine going offline the same day that everyone starts acting like we’re in an episode of the X-files?”

“What paranoid machine?” Henry asked. “The PX-319?”

“Yeah. That one.”

“It was working.”

“Not at the demo I saw, the monkeys were pretty happy.” Jack said and thought about the timing of Fargo’s disappearance. “I thought Fargo ran away because he was afraid of facing Nathan and admitting he broke something, but Dr. Sharat said he was acting like a raving lunatic when she informed him the PX-319 satellite was offline earlier that day. So he was just the messenger, and he totally overreacted to that, which means he didn’t do it.”

“Jack.” Henry said with a smile. He liked him, he really liked this guy and he saw why Nathan loved him His ability to turn science on it’s head, taking the theory just handed to him and pointing out the one instance it was wrong, was oddly refreshing. “That’s the exactly opposite of what Occam’s Razor says. Using my example, you’re saying the alien spaceship knocked over the tree because this is Eureka and of course there is a spaceship causing damage in a town where the trees are modified to withstand wind damage.”

“Not really, but I guess that is what I’m going for.” Jack saw Henry’s eyes light up as he considered this new Reverse Razor thing and he tried to not look into the fact that the trees were scientifically altered to not break. “I...really need you to walk around everywhere with me and translate my nonsense into that very well articulated thing you do, because Google Translate has be very uncooperative in that respect.”

“That’s actually brilliant.” Henry said. “And it puts Spencer’s actions into a whole new light. We need to get to his trailer.”

“The translate thing or the Reverse Razor idea?" Jack asked and Henry's smile said the theory about the Paranoia machine. 

"I think dismissing possibilities where everything impossible is a reality, is definitely the wrong method." Henry nodded. "We need to look at Spencer's trailer with that in mind."

"OK, I'll drive." Jack said and they jumped in the Jeep, he started it, threw it into reverse, and flipped on the sirens. “Can you tell me what he said at Beverly’s?”

“Their leader is here.” Henry said and tried to recall everything that Spencer had said. Exactly. “I need to go…” 

Jack shook his head, he wished there was more to go on. “Damn. We’ll have to rely on finding out what they watched to figure out what they’re afraid of.”

* * *

“That…” Faraday said as Stark drove them back to Beverly’s. The Artifact was something that could not be put into words. “I don’t even know what to call it. It could change everything.”

“It already has.” Nathan said as he tried to not drive too fast to ease his nerves, not that Faraday even noticed. Faraday was too overwhelmed with a mere glimpse at the Artifact, to pay attention, he hadn’t even seen the data yet and he wasn’t going to. It was bad enough he whetted his appetite by showing him what resided in the bowels of GD, he wasn’t going to let him feast on the knowledge it had already provided them with. 

“What have you been able to learn about it?” Faraday asked. “How long have you had access to it?”

Nathan took a deep breath and looked up at his rear-view mirror as a way to buy himself time to figure out what he wanted to divulge. He just wanted the man gone. He wanted to throw him on that helicopter and send him back to Washington and never hear from him again. Unfortunately, that was never going to happen now. He was getting his funding but at what cost? Then he saw the truck that was following them, Taggart’s truck, pull around as if to pass. God, Jack gave  _ him _ shit about speeding? Taggart had to be going 80mph in order to have to pull around him on this road. Then he looked over and saw the truck was packed full of people in the middle of the day and then in the back seat he saw...“Fargo?”

Faraday was about to ask if Fargo was another facility in North Dakota when he realized they were being pulled over. “These your people?”

“Kinda.” Nathan said and got out of the car just as Jo got out of the truck. She had a gun. Not unusual for Jo, but a little much for the situation. Something was wrong. Something else went wrong. Goddammit, he asked for one damned day of quiet and couldn't even get that!? Then Fargo exploded out of the back seat of the truck and almost tripped and fell into the ditch. Great. Fargo did something. That meant this was only the top of the iceberg. “What’s the meaning of this, Deputy?”

Jo ignored him and went to the BMW with her shotgun at the ready. 

Nathan wasn’t surprised she would ignore him but as Fargo scampered by he noticed he had a gun. That was a definite lack of sense that he would not attribute to Lupo, and he felt the hairs on his neck raise as they circled the car and pointed their guns at Faraday. This wasn't about an experiment gone wrong, but something bad all the same. Guns were raised at Faraday. What the hell was this!? “Have you lost your minds?!?”

Faraday froze in place as he was suddenly held at gunpoint. He wondered what they knew, he wondered if Beverly turned on him. The Artifact was certainly something worth protecting and he wondered if the Consortium changed their minds about him knowing about it. He raised his hands and asked, “Who are you people?”

“The question is, _who are you?_ ” Jo said and raised her shotgun at Faraday’s head as Vincent circled around from the other side to provide backup. 

Faraday froze. They had figured it out somehow. They figured out he was Consortium. 

“Alright.” Nathan said and pulled out his phone and hit speed dial for Jack. Then he felt something sting him in the back of the neck before he could raise his phone to his ear. He turned slowly, looking behind him to see his attacker, and Taggart peaked out from behind the scope of his tranquilizer gun and winked at him. He dropped the phone, raised a hand to his neck and sure enough there was a dart sticking out of it. Everything got blurry as he succumbed to the tranquilizer. He collapsed to his knees, heard Jack's voice as he answered the phone, and then fell face first into the pavement as everything went dark.

* * *

Jack heard his phone ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket as he drove down Spencer’s driveway. “It’s Nathan. Maybe he’s figured out his paranoia beam got shot into the wrong room.”

“Doubt he’d admit it.” Henry said with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m seeing that.” Jack said and flipped open his phone. “Don’t tell me we have to go to therapy again?”

“ _ He looks human but it’s just a guise _ .”

“What?” Jack asked as that was not Nathan’s voice but someone in the background. “Nathan?”

_ “You can see it. Hideous. Under the skin.” _

“Nathan, did you butt-dial me?” Jack asked as he stopped in front of Spencer’s trailer and Henry started giggling. “I mean, you’ve got a great ass but that’s not really what it’s for.”

_ “He picked Eureka for a reason.” _

Jack cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Is that..Fargo?”

_ “He can’t be trusted.”  _

“Jo?!?” Jack exclaimed and suddenly realized this was not a butt-dial but Nathan was with his missing people and he was not able to talk on his phone. 

_ “We captured him, now it’s time to interrogate him.” _

“Taggart?” Jack whispered. His heart felt tight as he realized his missing people were with Jo and probably had all those weapons. They were _with Nathan_ and he managed to get a call to him somehow. They were all with Nathan and talking about interrogating him!? He looked to Henry, panicked. He held out his phone and put it on speaker.

_ “He must be stopped. Their leader. He’s infiltrated our government and now he’s here, hiding in plain sight.” _

“That’s Spencer.” Henry confirmed.

Jack shook as the phone went dead, they must have discovered it. “Oh God, they think Nathan is some kind of spy or alien. I gotta go. Can you…”

Henry opened the door and got out. “I’ll check the trailer and call you with details. Go.”

Jack nodded and his hands started shaking as he pulled around and took off down the gravel road back to the highway. He called Allison, knowing she could locate the phone or something and give him a location for his husband before it was too late. He was screaming into the phone as soon as she answered. “ Allison! I need help. They have Nathan. I need to know where he is! His phone went dead! Find him! Please!” 


	39. Separate Roads

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 39

**Separate Roads**

* * *

Jack was finding out the limitations of his Jeep as he raced to the location Allison had told him Nathan's call had come from. The Jeep definitely liked to vibrate above 75mph and he could not turn corners with any degree of safety without slowing down, and it reminded him that it was never intended to do so. He loved the charm of the older Cherokee, but he was definitely missing his police package cruiser right now. It reminded him that  Eureka was a small town and small towns didn’t have police chases. The Jeep used to have Sheriff Cobb and he let Global Dynamics deal with it’s own shit and didn’t rush anywhere. Well, now Eureka had him and this Jeep was going to need some work because he was going to be chasing a lot of people around if this week was any indicator of what the town had in store for him.

He couldn’t help but wonder, what changed? Was it always like this? Was he just more observant and involved than Cobb? Was there more than he didn’t get involved in, like the whale? Did things just start happening more now that he and Nathan were here? 

He started nervously tapping his left leg again as that shimmy in the front end got worse as he approached 80mph. He was doing his best to not think too much about Nathan being in danger and focus on what might have caused this escalation in incidents in Eureka since their arrival. Somehow he arrived at blaming Cobb for allowing GD to police themselves and for having a Jeep that wasn’t up to the task of going LA highway speeds. 

His phone rang, saving him from his thoughts. Henry was calling. Thank God. “Hey! I’m on my way to Nathan’s last known location. Allison pinged his cell. It’s not moving so maybe the phone is just there and he’s not or….well give me some good news please?”

“ _ They were watching a movie called ‘They Came to Conquer’. _ ” 

“So alien invasion?” Jack asked.

“ _ Invasion. Abduction. Dissection. This movie has it all. _ ”

“Great.” Jack bit his lip. OK. Chances were good if Nathan wasn’t there that they took him somewhere else. He was OK, he had to be. They weren’t murderers. He knew that and felt confident about that, but if they thought he was an alien…. “So what happened to them? How did they go from watching a movie to making us live it?”

“ _ Were talking about Spencer here. He didn’t rent it, this movie comes out next week. Looks like he hijacked a satellite signal to intercept a digital broadcast. Then he bounced the signal off of a Global Dynamics satellite to cover his tracks.” _

“Oh.” Jack said.  _ Satellite. _ That was probably not a coincidence that the Monkey Mania Match didn't go off as planned because a satellite’s telemetry was off.

“ _ The number of the satellite is GD-85. _ ” 

“85?” Jack asked. “How many satellites does GD have?”

“ _ Do you really want to know? _ ”

“No.” Jack said. “OK, so our working theory is that the PX-319 got bounced into the Spencer Cinema last night and gave them all the paranoia juice instead of the monkeys. That sounds….Oh! I see Nathan’s car! Oh God! He’s face down in the road!” 

“ _ Call me back.” _

Jack hung up and then came to a screeching stop beside Nathan, threw open the door and landed on the ground beside him and started feeling around for a pulse. “Please, please be alive. Nathan? Hey, honey, answer me?”

Nathan groaned as the dart in his neck was touched and caused incredible pain.

“Nathan?” Jack bent down next to him and regretted trying to move his coat collar away from his neck to check his pulse. It must have touched the dart and that dart looked dangerously close to his vertebrae. “Talk to me, you OK?”

Nathan winced as he tried to turn his neck but that piercing pain returned. Jack got on his hands and knees beside him to look him in the eye; he looked terrified. Nathan reached behind his head and removed the dart embedded in his damned neck and then sat up and looked at it. “I just got shot with an animal tranquilizer and landed face first in the road. I've been better.“

Jack took his face in his hands and looked him in the eyes. He looked annoyed and groggy but otherwise fine. “Thank God you called me when you did.”

“The Congressman.” Nathan said and tried to turn his neck, but it was way too stiff, so he turned his entire torso around to look at his car. “Shit. Taggart, Jo, Fargo, Vince...they took him.”

“Yeah, they hijacked your paranoia inducing monkey beam when they downloaded an alien abduction movie from next week.” Jack said and Nathan went to stand up. He grabbed onto him and stood up with him then helped him over to his car where he checked him over for any more damage.

“Impossible.” Nathan said as Jack brushed roadway grit and twigs off of him, and then ran his hands over his face to check for inflammation and proof of life. Normally he would be more appreciative of it, but he was not very concerned about himself at the moment. “It was sent from a  _ secure _ global dynamics satellite.”

“No, it’s possible.” Jack said. “Spencer hacked into it.”

Nathan threw the tranquilizer dart on the ground in anger. “If anything happens to Faraday...”

“It won’t.” Jack said. “We know where they took him.”

“How?” Nathan asked and rubbed the back of his neck to determine if he could look forward to neurological damage as well as reduced movement for a few days. Taggart managed to hit his mark, thankfully. 

“By thinking like Jo.” Jack answered. “Where would you go if you were about to do an autopsy on an alien?”

Together they said, “Taggart’s lab.”

“Let’s go.” Jack said and took his arm to help him over to the Jeep.

“No. I’m calling GD security.” Nathan said and looked down on the ground at his smashed phone. He pulled out his PDA instead.

“No, you’re not.” Jack said and tugged on his outstretched arm to get him to come with him to his Jeep, instead Nathan pulled his arm back and used it to open his PDA.

“A crazy cabal is about to dissect a US Congressman.” Nathan cycled through his contacts. “Yes, I am.”

“They’re not crazy, they’re paranoid.” Jack reiterated as Nathan looked at his PDA to try to make a call. “If you come at them with a bunch of people with weapons this is going to go bad real fast.”

“My point exactly.” Nathan replied and suddenly Jack was a step closer and looking him in the eye. His posture was aggressive, his eyes telling him to put that PDA down or it was going to end up in pieces like his cell phone. It struck him how different things could have been had they come to Eureka as strangers and not as a couple, they would never agree on any approach to a situation even if it was the same destination they were trying to get to. 

“ _ What? _ ” Jack asked. How did he manage to say they were in agreement about this and then have a completely opposite solution? “If you agree with me, why does it sound like you’re still calling your goons?”

“They’re armed and dangerous.” Nathan repeated the clear and known facts. “I don’t see any other choice.”

Jack stepped away to walk off his anger. He threw his arms up and turned back to look at Nathan. “Then reverse the paranoia thing!” 

Nathan looked down at his PDA. That would have been the easy answer, the right answer, but he didn’t have the time when he was getting the project online. There wasn’t a need for a reversal of a system intended to eliminate an enemy completely and thoroughly. There wasn’t an 'undo' option. 

“You don’t know how.” Jack said, disgusted.

“I know how to save a US Congressman.” Nathan said and looked up at him and at that moment saw the division between them as if it was a tear in the space time continuum separating them in this moment. Their jobs were going to keep putting them on either side of some seemingly impossible to repair rift, and neither one of them was really wrong. However, a decision had to be made, right or wrong, and it was his job to protect GD’s guest not Jack’s. It was his job to protect Jack too, but he was trying to keep this purely professional lest Jack read his concern and react to it.

Jack waved his hands in a universal sign of abort and said, “No!”

“Jack,” Nathan said, “I have no choice.”

“Yeah, you do.” Jack said. “You have had plenty of choices and not making a fail-safe was one of them. I have a choice too, to save these people before they die believing they were doing the right thing in order to save us. You have the choice to listen to me because I'm the one with experience in this, I'm the one telling you exactly how this is going to go down but I don't have a fucking PhD so you're not listening!”

"Jack.." Nathan watched him jump in the Jeep and slam the door, then take off. Jack _was_ the one with the experience which was _exactly_ why he was calling in a tactical team to prevent him from handling it himself; because Nathan had enough experience watching Jack throw himself into danger to save people. This was GD's mess and he was going to take care if it and suffer Jack's wrath later. He missed Sheriff Cobb right now. He pressed the button on his PDA and called GD security. “This is Stark. Tell Task Command I need a detail sent to Taggart’s compound. Code Black.”

  
  


* * *

Jack called Henry back immediately. “Hey, Nathan’s alive.”

“ _ You don’t sound so happy about that. _ ”

“Well, I’m told he has that effect on people. '' Jack said and pounded his fist on the steering wheel. “We were wrong about Nathan being the target, it’s Faraday.”

“ _ Oh..no _ .”

“Yeah, exactly.” Jack said. “So I have a couple of paranoid people, with a ton of guns, in a compound created by Taggart, preparing to dissect a US Congressman, and a GD strike force on the way thanks to my wonderful husband who also didn’t think to create an antidote for this device.”

“ _ Oh no. _ ”

“I gotta save them, Henry.” Jack said. “I  _ was them _ a couple of days ago. I was the crazy guy accusing a really important visitor of being a fraud and having a wormholing, time-bending, invisibiling device that shields you from the mind.”

“ _ And you shot me _ .”

“And, I shot you.” Jack added and shook his head. Yeah, he was way worse and nobody should have let him do what he did. So much for preferential treatment. “I wasn’t under the influence of anything but my own instincts and you and Jo had my back. Jo’s just doing the same thing I was, acting on her instincts to protect with what she knows. She knocked me out, didn’t kill me; said she’s got it under control and to trust her. Well, she doesn’t know the information fed to her was wrong.”

“ _ I’m with you, Jack. _ ”

“I couldn’t stop Nathan from calling in the cavalry.” Jack said and looked in his rear-view mirror and saw a familiar black BMW closing in fast. “I’m trying to beat them there but considering Nathan is catching up to me I’m sure they’ll get there before I do. We gotta talk about upgrading this Jeep when this is over.”

“ _ I can do that. Good luck _ .”

“Thanks.” Jack said and hung up. He might not be able to outrun Nathan in his fancy sports car, but he sure as hell could utilize four wheel drive and take a shortcut. He slammed on the brakes as he saw the road Taggart must have gone down with his truck as mud was splattered all over the road and trees. It was rough. He came to a stop, put it in neutral as Nathan went flying by him, obviously figuring out what he intended to do. He tried to engage the 4x4 on the floor lever and met with a ton of resistance. “Really Cobb? You’re supposed to use the thing so it doesn’t lock up! This is why you got your leg eaten by a wormhole while sitting on your ass in your recliner! Get your lazy ass up... and move….”

Jack kicked the lever and it went into gear. He put it in drive and heard the front differential grind a bit. He wiggled the lever again and pressed the accelerator and the Jeep hopped forward. The wheels skipping on the pavement clued him in that the 4x4 was engaged. He cautiously left the road to make sure the transmission wouldn’t shatter into pieces and leave him stranded in the woods, then pressed the gas and started to descend the hill as fast as he dared, bouncing everywhere as the Jeep went back to nature. “Ok, baby! Let’s show Nathan up!”

* * *

“How many are you?” Taggart asked the man strapped to his exam table: the alien invader. “We know  _ what you are _ . We know  _ where you’re from _ . And believe me, by the time I’m done with you, we’ll know _ everything else. _ ”

Fargo leaned in close with his rifle. “Have you come to harm us?”

“What do you people want?” Faraday asked as he lay on a stainless steel table that was a little juicy. He was strapped down with metal cuffs so he could only look around a little. There were drums around the room, labeled with bio-hazard symbols, that smelled fishy. Not the good fishy smell either, the smell of rotting fish, seaweed and trash that always ended up gathering in the nooks of a pier. How the hell did these people learn about the Consortium? They were not geniuses, they were just some grunts who did support work? Unless there was someone else, someone higher up who figured them out. Did Stark....could this have been a ruse? He was obviously not happy with showing him the Artifact, perhaps it had been a test? If anyone could find traces of their involvement in Global Dynamics, it was him. Coming on the heels of Dr. King's mistakes, he would be scouring the systems for evidence of other wrong doings. Maybe this was all a way to flush them out? Stark could have had this team of people kidnap him from his car to maintain his status as a victim, then let them go through with an interrogation while he arranged for a rescue. Well, they would get nothing from him. Then the Deputy grabbed him by the collar and he forgot about his conspiracy theories and bravado.

“We want answers.” Jo said coldly as she grabbed his collar tightly and stared into his eyes. She saw something crawling under his skin, the alien underneath trying to contain itself. They acted just in time to save Eureka and the world from this monster. "And we'll get them."


	40. Once More Unto The Breach

_Dissolved_

Chapter 40

**Once more Unto The Breach**

* * *

The Jeep emerged from the wilderness and onto the driveway at Taggart’s place, surprising a few guys in black tactical gear when didn't expect the Sheriff's car to burst through the trees. Jack was impressed the Jeep had the guts to go off-roading through the sketchy terrain of Taggart’s back yard. He pulled up to the front of the house and there were plenty of GD security guys but no Nathan. He put the Jeep in park and jumped out, he still had a chance to get in there and negotiate. There were security guys swarming all over the place and he knew that Taggart had to know they were here. There was no way he didn’t have surveillance and security cameras everywhere, especially if he was hanging out with Fargo. Especially if his backyard looked like the perfect place for a serial killer to lure hapless teenagers into the woods with the allure of exploring an abandoned theme park. 

“Set up a perimeter! Standard breach formation! Let’s Go!”

Jack turned as a unit of guys materialized out of a truck and started taking position to breach. He looked for an opening, any opening, where he could get into the compound before they did. Unfortunately the lead security dude could see him scoping things out.

“Sheriff Carter, please stay back.” Captain Mills said and wondered when Dr. Blake would get there to give him to go ahead to detain the Sheriff.

Jack saw Nathan pull up and looked at the Security guy. “I need to get in there.”

“No, he does not!” Nathan barked as he got out of his car and marched over to take charge of the situation before Jack could find a way to get himself killed.

“Let me negotiate this! I know these guys!” Jack yelled back.

“No you don’t.” Nathan snapped back. “You’ve been here  _ a week _ , you don’t know anyone that well.”

“I know them well enough to not want them to die!”

“Look, Jack!” Nathan said and grabbed him by the shoulders. “I don’t like this any more than you do, but if something happens to that Congressman, what do you think is going to happen to Eureka?”

“Something  _ already happened _ to that Congressman.” Jack said. “You think he’s going to believe that being taken hostage was part of the guided tour!? Even you can’t spin this as part of the demonstration of the PX-319!”

“Jack, we can save this by saving him. We can still save…”

“The town?” Jack swatted his hands off him. “ _ The town _ ? That’s what matters more to all of you than the people in it?”

“Yes!” Nathan screamed back. “That’s exactly what all of us sign off on when we come here! To put this town above ourselves, to put scientific breakthroughs and advancement of the human race above one or a few individuals! Don't be a hypocrite! It’s exactly what you signed up for when you became a cop! You put your life on the line for the greater good! That’s what all of us traded for the chance to be part of something great and it’s my job to make sure that all those sacrifices were not in vain.”

Jack at the GD security dude who was clearly just waiting on a directive and not wanting to get in the middle of any of this. Nathan...wasn’t wrong, but there was nothing about this that was right. “I just am asking for more time. Let me talk to them.”

“I’m sorry.” Nathan said. “I can’t risk it.”

“That’s the job _ I  _ signed up for.” Jack countered. “You just said so!”

“Jack…”

“Fine!” Jack said and threw up his hands as he saw Allison pull up. She had the authority to put him under arrest and this GD security guy knew it. “Okay. If that’s how it has to be..fine.”

Nathan took a breath as Jack turned around and ran his hand through his hair, something he did when he was angry and out of options. He was heading back to his Jeep. “Thanks for your cooperation, Sheriff.”

Jack shook his head and gave him the finger and knew Nathan would roll his eyes. He knew Nathan would have to explain to Allison why he was getting this reaction from him. He knew he just needed that much time to get a shot at the one gap in the perimeter where the tactical team guys were trying to avoid being seen by the security camera mounted on the porch. So, when he saw the chance he took it and he ran like he was trying to steal a base and immediately heard screaming.

“Jack!” Nathan screamed and couldn't believe he fell for that. Shit! 

“Sheriff!” Captain Mills screamed. “Stop now! Hold your fire! I repeat hold your fire.”

Nathan hung his head as Jack sprinted to Taggart’s porch and started banging on the door. Allison came up to him and put her hand on his arm, knowing that there was a 50/50 chance Jack might get shot right there. He looked up and watched him, watched his back and waited for the door to open. He felt his heart start to pound as he considered these might be the last few seconds of Jack’s life and he almost started walking up to the house to join him in case they were.

* * *

“Tell your people to lay down their weapons.” Jo said as she continued to choke Faraday with his tie.

“I..don't have…”Faraday whispered as best he could through a constricted windpipe, “Any people.”

  
  


“He’s right.” Taggart said calmly then hissed. “He’s just the host.”

Faraday tried to breathe as the Deputy released him from her choke hold, but his tie was still way too tight. He looked over as he heard a drill...or maybe a saw?

“The creature’s protected inside.” Taggart said as he picked up the cutter he used to cut up Fudgey the whale and turned it on. The whale blubber did wonders on lubricating it. Poor Fudgey, so young...so full of promise. 

“How do we get it out?” Fargo asked. He took a step back as something greasy flung off the saw blade and hit the ‘Emu Crossing’ sign on the wall.

“We _cut it out_.” Taggart said and turned to the Congressman. He went up to the man as he started to struggle, clearly the monster within knew it it’s time was up. The saw blade hummed, waiting to sink it's teeth into alien flesh. He hated doing necropsies on poor creatures like Fudgey, but he had no qualms about cutting this alien out of its shell. It wasn’t of this world and would leave it in pieces! 

Faraday struggled as the whirling saw got closer to his belly and fishy smelling grease splattered him in the face. He screamed and then he heard a loud bang and hoped that was a team of security people to save him. But...why would they knock?

There was pounding at the door and then the intercom started buzzing. Everyone froze and Taggart turned off the saw. Jo raced upstairs with her gun to greet their visitor and Taggart went over to the intercom and calmly and sweetly sing-songed, “Who is it?”

_ “Jack Carter. _ ” Jack answered and stuck his entire face into the camera at the door. “ _ I’m unarmed _ .  _ Open the door _ .”

Taggart watched him take his gun belt off and toss it in the mulch about three yards behind him. He replied, innocently, “And what is this in reference to?”

“ _ Taggart, I know you have the Congressman in there. I also know you shot my husband with the same tranquilizer gun you shot me with on my first day in town and that he’s going to be having some tingling sensations for the next week that I didn’t give him. So, let’s talk?” _

Taggart grunted. “It’s safe for all species.”

_ “It’s really not, especially when administered with a dart that size out of a rifle. That needle was big enough to take down a whale. _ ”

“Oh God, Fudgey.”

_ “I’m here to take a statement about that too? Just gotta let me in, man.” _

“He knows so much.” Fargo said. “Too much.”

“Let him in.” Taggart hollered up to Jo.

Jo opened the door and Carter was standing there with his hands up. She had her shotgun pointed at him as she tried to look around him to check the perimeter. He was tall and with his arms up his leather jacket blocked a lot of her view. “Are you alone?”

Jack put his hands behind his head. “Oh, yeah.”

* * *

“Copy that. We have the shot, Dr. Stark.”

Nathan felt like vomiting. He could see from his position that Jo’s gun was pointed at Jack’s chest and he could tell it was a MPS auto-assault 12 gauge shotgun. At point blank range, Jack’s internal organs would be shredded and he’d be dead before he hit the ground. 

“Nathan, give him a chance.” Allison said and tugged on his coat sleeve. “Let him do the job he was brought here to do.”

“Should we take the shot?” Captain Mills asked. Stark was known for his quick decisions and the GD Security Department absolutely loved him for it, however this time around it appeared he was personally compromised and he wondered what that meant for them. 

Nathan felt the seconds tick by and felt his blood pulsating in the vein on his neck. Then Jack stepped in front of Jo, blocking her from view and effectively protecting her from any shot the team could take. 

“ _ Hold your fire, we lost the target. _ ” Crackled over the radio.

Nathan saw Jack turn around as Jo checked him for weapons. They looked at each other for as long as they could, a second or two, before Jo could drag him inside. Jack mouthed the words, “I’m sorry’ right before he disappeared into Taggart’s den. “I hope he knows what he’s doing.”

Allison looked up at him as he turned around to walk away, knowing that the crack in his voice was his fear. She never thought she’d see Nathan hesitate, he would have taken the shot if it was anyone else. However, he must have feared losing Jack too much to do it. Whether by gunshot or divorce was to be determined. She looked at Captain Mills and said, “Hold for now, but be ready to breach.”

* * *

“Jo, any minute this place is going to be swarmed by the only people on the planet better armed than you.”

“We’ll do what we have to.” Jo said and poked Carter in the back with the end of her shotgun. 

“No, you’re going to get hurt or worse.” Jack said as they descended the stairs to Taggart’s lab and he scanned the room to get a feel for his situation: Faraday was strapped to the table, Taggart had a cutting saw and Fargo and Vince both had guns. Super. Only one exit too, which made him wonder how the hell Taggart got anything down here to work on. There had to be a garage? He didn’t see his truck anywhere outside. There was a garage, probably behind the door Vincent was standing in front of. Noted. 

“You can’t trust him, he’s one of them!” Taggart hissed.

“Then don’t trust me, trust your own common sense!” Jack said and looked back to Jo.

“Oh, so what, I’m stupid now?” She asked as she circled around and pointed the gun at his face again.. “I know what I saw.”

Jack looked over at the wall. There was a pinup of Nathan in his Live Smart Eureka calendar centerfold over the desk. Of course Taggart also had a calendar and displayed it over his workstation. “Jo, listen to me. Remember when you showed me your naked Nathan calendar? Does that sound like something you would show a guy who you didn’t trust? The village idiot who didn’t even know his husband was a model in a calendar and still doesn’t know anything about this whale incident?”

“Oh...Fudgey.” Taggart whimpered and then reached out and touched the bio-hazard drum that housed some of his organs.

“You guys are suffering from a mass delusion.” Jack informed them and it went over well. Guns all redirected at him instead of Faraday. 

“Nice try mate.” Taggart laughed and swiped his finger across the rim of the open bio-hazard drum and placed it on his tongue. “Think I don’t know the taste of sperm whale blubber?”

“Ok...I’m not talking to _ you _ any more about common sense.” Jack said and looked at Jo. “Jo? What makes more sense? That he’s an alien or you guys are delusional?”

As Carter’s finger pointed to each and every one of them, Fargo felt the weight of his guilt for the Fudgey murder weigh down on him, especially on his finger that was poised on the trigger. He accidentally fired off a round and screamed.

* * *

“ _ Shots fired!! _ ” 

Nathan turned and looked at the house as Captain Mills ran over to him for permission to do their job. He hated this feeling, the feeling of waiting outside to find out if Jack was dead or alive, all the damned technology in the world at his fingertips and none of it any use to tell him if his husband was bleeding to death or not. Jack dropped his gun in the yard, the shot had to come from one of the armed individuals.

“Sir, we need to move in.” Mills said and waited for the ‘Go’.

“Not yet.” Allison said. 

Nathan tried to think like Jack, tried to use deduction to prove some half-assed theory that justified putting himself in danger. Jo and Taggart were trained soldiers, they wouldn’t fire their weapons unless absolutely necessary. Paranoid or not. Vince and Fargo, however, were not in that category. The pressure was on now, that was when they would crack. “I’m sorry Allison, I have to.”

She looked at him and said, “Nathan, this is his job. This is why the D.O.D. brought him here. This is why Bill Cobb recommended him as a replacement. Let him work. Stop treating him like your husband and start treating him like the Sheriff.”

“Captain Mills, go ahead.” Nathan said and the man nodded and ran over to relay the new orders to his people. “Sorry, Allison, but he had his chance and now they escalated things. Shots were fired and if someone is in there bleeding they are not capable of reacting appropriately. Negotiations are over.” 

“Prepare for full breach!” Mills barked.


	41. We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Brothers

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 41

**We few, We Happy Few, We Band of Brothers**

* * *

“Okay, who gave Fargo _a gun_?” Jack screamed and looked to Jo. “That doesn’t seem like a horrible, horrible decision to you? You're in charge of the gun case and you think that’s not a violation of protocol? You’re ranking officer here!”

Jo glared at Fargo. “Put the safety back on!”

“Did he pass the test?” Jack asked her. “Is he certified to have access to our gun safe?”

“Yes.” She said. “The test isn’t  _ that hard _ , Carter!”

_ “Come out of the house with your hands on your heads!”  _

Jack looked up as he heard the demand come from outside, the GD guys had to be advancing on them now. Yeah, with shots fired, they were only minutes from kicking in the door. He had to hurry up, he looked back to Jo. He felt like he was reaching her now. Barking orders at a soldier had a way of doing that. “OK, Jo, listen. You guys were all watching a movie in Spencer’s trailer called ‘ _ They Came to Conquer’, _ right? You made me stay at the office and do my homework, and I did, while you went over for movie night. With all these guys.”

Jo looked at her team, then down to their prisoner, and then Carter waved at her to get her attention away from the alien. 

“It was a movie about aliens invading a small, bucolic town in the Pacific Northwest.” Jack said and watched her think about it. He was reaching her, thank God.

“Spencer saw their ship,” Taggart said and pointed his saw at the alien’s face. "And he is their emissary."

“No!” Faraday yelped.

“Taggart!” Jack screamed as the saw turned on and some goo shot off of it and into the Congressman’s open mouth. “What Spencer saw was Congressman Faraday’s helicopter arriving! His trailer is directly below the flight path.”

Taggart thought about it. He knew flight paths and migration paths and falling whale paths and this... was possible. 

“Where  _ is _ Spencer?” Jack asked. He assumed the kid would be with them.

“He got the information about the alien to me and that’s all that you need to know.” Taggart said and narrowed his eyes at him. 

“I’ll take that to mean he’s still naked in the woods somewhere.” Jack said with a nod. “Let’s talk about you guys because you’re the ones with a hostage and a GD security team creeping through your yard. I will need your help tracking him down, later. OK, buddy?”

“Au Naturale.” Taggart said appreciatively. “Spencer’s embracing his humanity through…”   


“Nudity, yeah, I saw that. I also think he’s more nuts than all of you and you know it otherwise he'd be here too. So, back to the imminent tactical team breach that will end up with all of us dying in a hailstorm of bullets, probably from Fargo’s gun.” Jack said and _ that _ shamed Fargo into putting the safety back on- maybe. He’d have to come back to that. “Congressman, what time did your flight arrive?”

“After midnight.” Faraday said. And tried to spit out something oily that refused to get out of his mouth. What the hell was on that saw?!?

“OK, about the time the movie was over?” Jack asked the gathering, then turned to Jo. She was the key here. He needed to convince her because the rest would fold with their leader. “If I remember right, it was about 10 pm when you were dispatched for that noise complaint, that would be enough time for a feature film. Right, Jo?” 

“Yeah.” Jo nodded.

“Good. Here's what really happened. Spencer bounced the movie off a Global Dynamics satellite that was being used for a weapon that beamed waves of paranoid into monkeys.” Jack said. “And it would be real handy if Spencer was here to confirm that, but you’re going to have to trust me. Wait... _ Fargo _ , you were part of that test. It was GD-85, the satellite number, right? The PX-319 was using GD-85 and there was a malfunction, wasn’t there, Fargo?” 

Fargo hung his head and tried to not think of how angry Dr. Stark was about that. "Yeah, Satellite GD-85."

“The project failed, and you ran, because Nathan is mean.” Jack said softly. “The good news is he is going to be way  _ way _ too pissed at me for this to remember how angry he is at you. The great news is, the test didn’t fail. You guys became the demonstration and it’s a pretty amazing war machine, don’t you agree Congressman?”

“Absolutely. You’re definitely getting funding, now.” Faraday nodded and gave up trying to spit out the gross slime and wiped his tongue off on his shoulder, hoping the fabric might be abrasive enough to remove the fat from his tongue. He continued to watch Jack Carter work. The man was absolutely nothing like he expected him to be and he was definitely way more of a concern to the Consortium and it’s plans than they anticipated. Getting at Nathan Stark would be difficult if he was in the way. Or maybe not.

“OK, everyone still following me?” Jack asked as they looked at him slightly confused but guns were being lowered, slowly. “When Spencer bounced the satellite signal, you became the monkeys.”

“Why does it have to always be about following you?” Jo snapped. “Why don’t you try following my lead for once? We have the alien, _right here_. He’s licking himself, trying to generate enough saliva to regurgitate his acidic digestive enzymes and devour his own host body. So either you’re with us or you’re not.”

Faraday stopped what he was doing and swallowed hard. Unfortunately that meant he swallowed the disgusting, fatty, gamey-fish tasting, ooze and started to gag. 

“Wait!” Jack said and wondered if the Congressman really wanted to die. What the hell was he doing!? “Maybe _you do_ have an infiltrator.”

Jo nodded and raised her gun again and pointed it at the alien’s head as he tried to vomit while laying on his back. “About damned time.” 

Jack took off his jacket and tossed it on the desk. “But it’s not him. It’s me.”

Jo shook her head. No. Carter wasn’t the alien. She knew that. 

“I’m the new guy. I didn’t pass your test.” Jack said and she finally looked confused. “I mean, how hard is it to pass the test? Everyone’s done it. You, Fargo,  _ my house _ . Hell, probably even this dead whale!”

“Fudgey!” Taggart wailed.

“As a US Marshall, I should be able to pass a damned gun test, right? It’s way harder to pass the tests to get into the Marshall Service, especially the oral exam, and memorize all that penal code to be a cop, but I can’t pass your test. I must be either stupid, or I’m lying about who I am.”

Jo saw Taggart considering it and thinking about turning on his saw again. “Get out of the way, Carter.”

“I mean, look at  _ him _ .” Jack said and pointed to naked Nathan on the wall. “Look at  _ me _ . What the hell is _ that guy  _ doing with me unless I had some kind of mind-bending, enticing...tentacles hiding somewhere.”

“That would explain it.” Fargo said. Carter's tentacles had been seen this week, they were purple and thick...with suction cups the perfect size to...

“Yeah, and you gave him a SmartHouse, didn’t you Fargo? A nice, safe house who wants to meet his every need and give it to him with your falsetto voice.” Jack said and looked back to Jo. “It has to be me. I didn’t see how much this town needed you. I treated you like an appendage, like a tentacle that could just be waved around for speculation and show of force, then put in a drawer for later. Maybe, I just can’t see humans as valuable beings.”

“That..sounds more like your husband.” Jo said and lowered her gun a little. 

“Yeah, he’s really pushing it today.” Jack said. “And I’m going to need a friend to stop me from doing something stupid and losing the best thing that ever happened to me. That includes Nathan, it includes Eureka and I really want it to include you too. I need you, Jo. I want a partner and there is no one else in this town I would rather have my back than you. Personally and professionally. So please, trust me.”

Jo looked around and realized that the guy she had been working with this last week could never be an alien. He understood people too well, so well he could see their motives behind their actions. Nobody else had ever questioned Jason Anderson, but in less than a day he had exposed him as a fraud. She trusted him then, and now she was the one that sounded insane and he wasn’t abandoning her. “OK.”

“Can you maybe order your team to stand down?” Jack asked and pointed at Fargo. “Especially _him_ because I don’t believe that Fargo switched off the safety on the MultiWave 2000 Rifle. I believe he switched it from 'bullets' to 'sound' and is going to liquefy and boil our internal organs the next time he thinks about Nathan yelling at him.”

“Goddammit Fargo.” Jo said and pointed to the table. “Put it down.  _ Slowly _ . Finger  _ off  _ the trigger.”

Fargo put it on Faraday’s belly, muzzle pointed at the man’s face and backed away. 

Jack winced and Faraday’s eyes almost popped out of his skull. Yeah, no way Nathan was saving this. No fucking way. “So, maybe we should go upstairs and see about getting your heads straightened out? Maybe _before_ that tactical team comes in here with XD-52 Tear gas and that jellyfish stinging net launcher…the Medusa-Juicer?”

“Medusa _fuser._ ” Jo said. “Seriously? That’s the easiest one, Carter!”

“There’s my Deputy. I’ve really missed you, Jo.”

“Thanks.”

“Maybe you can let the Congressman go so he can come out with me first? So they see he’s OK?” Jack said and she grabbed all the weapons from everyone and put them on the desk next to his jacket. Taggart and Fargo helped release Faraday. Jack took his jacket back and ran up the stairs and hoped he wasn’t going to get blasted in the face with something lethal or have his nose broken by the butt of a rifle to complement the gash on his head from Jo's attack earlier. He swung open the door and screamed, “We’re coming out! Hold your fire!”

* * *

“Hold your fire!”

“Stand Down!”

“Hold your fire!”

Nathan managed to tune out the cacophony of all the men reacting to seeing Jack step out of the house with his hands up, and focus entirely on the sight of Jack alive and well. He was surveying the scene, still protecting whoever was in the doorway with his body, but as soon as he felt safe his eyes immediately locked on to him. He could almost hear him cracking a joke about his height and looming presence, but in that moment all he could hear was his lungs letting go of a breath he held when the door first opened. Jack was alive. 

“Someone’s coming out!”

“Weapon’s down!”

“Hold your fire!”

“Stand down! Stand down!”

“I told you to trust him.” Allison said.

“It wasn’t about trust.” Nathan said and the moment with Jack was over as he was now preoccupied with getting the Congressman out of the house. Faraday took a moment to puke in the bushes, the same bushes Jack threw his gun in, and knowing Jack’s luck...it was a direct hit on his gun and utility belt. He hoped he could tease him about it later as he tried to scrub it clean in the laundry sink. “It was about him being a fucking hero.”

“You do remember who you married, right?” Allison asked and Nathan’s eyes never left Jack. 

“I know, it’s just when faced with the reality of him running into a situation like this that I hate that part of him.” Nathan said and Jack walked beside Faraday with his hands up as men in black tactical gear surrounded the group. They were unarmed and coming willingly. Jack had overcome the odds once again.

“They have support groups for spouses of law enforcement officers for this very reason.” Allison informed him. “It takes its toll on you, not knowing if they’ll come home.”

“So Beverly is still taking that patient confidentiality thing seriously, huh?” Nathan quipped, dryly.

“I talked to her on my drive over here. I thought the Congressman might need some therapy after this.” Allison noticed he refused to look at her, a first. He only had eyes for one person right now. “She wanted me to relay to you that her door is open for individual sessions if you need someone to talk to.”

“Noted.” 

The cold reply told her any more attempts to reach out to him would result in another verbal hand slap. She'd try later when he wasn't so defensive and possibly overwhelmed. Time to redirect conversation back to work to keep him level-headed. “So, will you try and salvage this as proof that the PX-319 works?”

“I’m sure Faraday is a believer now.” Nathan said and took a deep breath as Jack arrived at the gateway to the complex and disappeared in a sea of black uniforms as everyone was patted down. “However the PX-319 doesn’t work.”

“What?” Allison asked, surprised. There was no way this was all an act, Nathan wasn't a fraud.

“It’s supposed to be an irreversible beam of paranoia, overcoming all rational thought. It's supposed to turn soldiers against each other, override their training and common sense.”

“It was corrupted by being delivered through the movie…”

“Jack was able to talk sense into them. He was able to talk them down. He may be extraordinary in that regard, but it’s still evidence of a complete failure of the project to deliver the promised results.” Nathan shrugged. “I’ve never been so relieved to see my work fail.”

Allison watched as Jack came over to them. “Tell him. Nathan, take this opportunity to tell him. You should have heard him when he called me. You should have heard how terrified he was, thinking they took _you_ hostage.”

“Ally..”

“Nathan, we used to be married.”

“I remember.”

“Well, remember _why that failed_.” She said and realized how harshly that was delivered when he finally looked at her instead of Jack. “This isn’t about trying to control him, you need to learn that. You don’t fall for people who are easy to control, you have a type. That friction is fun until it produces heat and burns you and then you’re hands off while you let those scald wounds fester.”

“Thanks, Dr. Blake.” He drawled. “But I’m not the man you married.”

“No, you're the one I divorced. I’m just trying to help. The fact that you’re getting mad at me for it, is evidence you know I’m right.” She said and left it at that and walked over to Jack who was shaking off the adrenaline rush of his most recent brush with death. Did Nathan even read his file? Probably not, if he did, his need to lock him away for safety would be absolutely overbearing. “So everyone is OK?”

Jack laughed as Captain Mills came over to get a report as well. “They’re alive but they’re all absolutely nuts! Restraints, now.”

Mills nodded. “Right away.”

"Oh, and Spencer is out there in the woods somewhere. Naked. So you might want to round him up too." Jack added.

"Got it." Mills said and left to relay that to his men. 

“Well done.” Allison said, again. 

“Yeah, uh…” He looked up at Nathan who was being his stoic, observant, distant, _expert_ self right now. He had given the go ahead to breach, this tactical team answered to him.  “Well, someone had to do it.”

Nathan refused to rise to the bait, especially since that mentality was exactly why he wanted to start screaming his head off right now. Emotions were high, adrenaline was high, nothing good was going to come out of a confrontation right now. “Glad it worked out, but that was an idiotic decision on your part.”

“Well, got to keep my position of village idiot somehow.” Jack said and turned away, he wanted to get into this right now but it wasn’t the place. Especially with the people he wanted to protect being led to the van in cuffs. If he blew up, they would go ape-shit. Nathan knew that, which almost made him turn around and hit him for it. He knew he was coming down off an adrenaline high from this, he knew now wasn’t the time in any way shape or form. Later. “I’m going with them back to GD, make sure they don’t become the lab monkeys since this device of yours didn’t work on the real monkeys. I’m sure you’ve got some ass to kiss, so talk to you later.”

Allison turned to Nathan as Carter walked away, saw his mouth open for a parting remark because he just couldn’t stand not having the last word. “Nathan, don’t.”

Nathan took a deep breath and watched Jack walk over, pick his gun belt out of the bushes with a stick and dip it in a koi pond. He then turned his attention to Faraday, “Congressman, perhaps I can give you a ride back to Beverly's?”

“I hope it goes better than the last one.” Faraday said and took his suit coat from a guard. “For your sake.”

“For your sake, I hope you don’t have to justify shelving this project to the military after seeing the results firsthand.” Nathan replied, his voice firm and commanding despite not having made a since firm and commanding decision since setting foot on Taggart's property.

“You’re something else, Stark.” Faraday said. “You really do belong in D.C.”

“I belong here, so that we can keep producing weapons so _your_ position in D.C. is protected.”

“Is that a personal or general statement?”

“I’d think you’d be happy I was on the other side of the country from you so I couldn’t call you out on your bullshit.” Nathan shrugged and pulled out his keys, “If I'm wrong, I'm sure Dr. Blake would be happy to give you a ride.”

Faraday gave Dr. Blake a smile that said he noted the change in Stark’s demeanor and he knew the reason for it. He turned and looked over at the Sheriff shaking off his gun belt and placing it in the back of his Jeep, just to illustrate his point. She gave him a polite smile that said she wasn’t even going to try and deny it. Beverly was so wrong about Stark and he couldn’t wait to tell her that to her face. “It was good seeing you again, Dr. Blake.”

“Have a safe trip home, Congressman.”

“Well, as long as GD isn’t providing my transportation, I should be fine.” He said and walked over to Stark's car, despite his statement, and got in. They watched the security teams leave, followed by the Sheriff’s Jeep and he noted that Carter didn’t bother to even look at them. Well, Stark wasn’t the only one compromised by his relationship. “You’ll get your funding, Nathan. The military can have this paranoia machine, but the Artifact...well that stays secret.”

“I never intended to tell anyone about it.”

“After what I saw today…” Faraday buckled his seat belt. “I expect strict security protocols and consistent psychological evaluations on the people working on the Artifact. No exception. Not even for you.”

“That’s one more person added to the team.” Nathan said and looked over at the man. “Who doesn’t have the clearance.”

“I didn’t have the clearance either. So we both know you can make it happen.” Faraday looked at him and smiled. “You can make that happen, right Nathan? So I can make your budget happen?”

“Yeah.” Nathan said and put his car in drive and joined the convoy out of the Taggart compound. He followed behind Jack’s Jeep until they got to the main road and then turned left instead of going back to GD. He had to bring Faraday back to Beverly’s, but he felt the weight of not returning to Global with them, with Jack. He looked in his rear-view mirror and watched the Jeep disappear around the bend, hoping this wasn’t some fucking metaphor for their relationship. 


	42. Life, The Universe, and Everything

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 42

**Life, The Universe, and Everything**

* * *

After dropping Faraday off at Beverly’s, Nathan drove back to GD and actually went the speed limit. It wasn’t to appease Jack, but because he had yet to really take in the beauty of Eureka and remember why he wanted to come here. Remember why this was what he considered to be the most perfect place on Earth. 

It hadn’t even been a week since his return and things were, once again, not looking good. It didn’t take much to picture Jack and Zoe in a car on this very road, passing him on their way out of town. He wrongfully thought this would be easy, that it would only take some personal pleading with Jack for another chance, that the only thing keeping them apart was distance; arrogance at its finest. Now he saw the distance was something they naturally put between themselves when doing what they loved most: working.

Sure, things got protective and personal when one of them was in danger. Sure they went home at night and were making up for the weeks spent apart by fucking like they couldn’t stand the thought of their bodies being apart. Surely, there had to be an equation that worked to keep them both here and happy and equal them happy together.

Nathan drove through town and looked at the empty parking spots at the Sheriff’s department and knew both employees were up at Global fixing a problem he created. He glanced over at Cafe Diem and the cafe was closed for anything other than coffee since Vince was also up at Global. He watched people as they recognized his car and they either stared at him or walked faster. Callie, the dry-cleaning lady waved, but that was because they were bringing her so much business thanks to semen stained coats and uniforms. Jack probably overshared too, he was incapable of just dropping off clothes without babbling about the stains that needed to be removed. He had never done more than leave clothes with her and have basic conversations about fabric content and pickup, yet here she was waving at him because he was the Sheriff’s husband and suddenly a little more approachable.

Jack had already changed his life and he wanted this life. He wanted to drive into town and look forward to coffee every morning. He wanted to lean against the counter at Cafe Diem, look across the street and know Jack was late because he was too busy getting teased by his Deputy to get over to Cafe Diem for Vinspressos on time. He wanted to put his arm around his husband at Zoe’s play and watch as a proud parent as she stole the show. He wanted to teach her how to drive. He wanted to continue to watch Jack whip around Beverly like a whirlwind in their sessions, talking about whatever insignificant trivia of the week tickled his fancy. He wanted...everything.

Unfortunately he didn’t have the answers for how to get there because Jack was pissed at him and there was a storm brewing that they might not be strong enough to survive. He crossed the bridge to GD and looked up at the beautiful white building on the hill that symbolized so much to him: truth, knowledge, progress, power. Yet inside, in a lab meant for monkeys and a horrible war machine, was a man who was the embodiment of something he wanted more than all that. So, the question was...what would he do to keep him? If he was willing to grovel, share the Artifact and swallow his pride to fund this scientific utopia, what was he willing to give up to save his happily ever after?

He saw Ally waiting for him at his parking spot when he pulled up to GD. and realized how different Jack was from her. Materialistically….Ally wanted everything, Jack wanted nothing. There was nothing he could give Jack Carter other than himself that he would value, versus Ally who he showered with expensive gifts and prestige. Not that she was greedy, she just liked being fawned over. She liked flattery, Jack shied from it and dismissed it. Jack...was pretty utilitarian, he valued things that could not be bought: trust, loyalty and honesty. 

So where the hell did that leave him other than dreading walking into Section 3 and being slapped in the face with divorce papers again? Could he give Jack what he wanted? Something he should have been willing to give to him before he asked him to marry him? What was holding him back if he truly, truly wanted Jack more than anything in the world?

Allison waited for him to get out of the car, surprised he took his time. She wondered if that meant GD was in danger of closing down. “So? Did we get our funding?”

“For now.” Nathan said as he got out of the car and stretched. Then he locked it and walked over to join her.

“Henry’s come up with a solution to the paranoia and it seems to be working. Everyone is in the PX-319 lab right now.” She informed him as they walked towards the entrance to GD.

“Good.” Nathan said. “I’ll head down there, unless there is something else you want to talk about?”

“How can you tell?” She asked with a smile and stopped walking, he stopped with her. His mind was elsewhere and she couldn't blame him.

“You haven’t waited for me by my parking spot...well since you asked me to move out.” Nathan said. “There is something you want to say that shouldn’t be said inside the building.”

“If I recall, you never actually moved in. However, I’ve said everything I’m going to say about you and Jack.” She answered. “For now.”

“Well, let’s hope there is a later.” 

“I know it’s not the right time to bring this up, but I’m worried about Kevin.” She said and pushed her hair behind her ear. 

“Ally, he’s my son. There is never a bad time to talk about him.” 

“He’s been drawing these horrible things ever since he saw Walter Perkins.” She said and handed him a file full of Kevin’s drawings. “If it was all drawings of ghost Walter, I would be comfortable saying it was trauma, but these are something else.”

Nathan took the file and opened it. He flipped past the first few of Walter, then he was shocked to see a drawing of the Artifact. It was unmistakable.

“Do you recognize it?”

“No.” Was his immediate answer, the lie so smoothly coming from his mouth out of instinct. “It’s just a startling transition and there...are so many of them.”

“He’s ignoring his school work, he’s not making progress in therapy…” She said and took a deep breath. “I just didn’t know where to turn. I know you have your own problems but…”

“Kevin’s never been a problem and I will be happy to see if I can reach him.” Nathan gave her the folder back. It was safer with her. “I’d like to see him tonight?”

“Thank you.”

Nathan nodded. It was ‘Thank You’ when she wanted something and ‘My son you walked away from’ when he just wanted to visit and see how he was doing. Ally was not Jack. Then again, Kevin wasn’t Zoe. “I better get in there.”

“Nathan.” She said and reached out to grab his arm. “I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”

“Thanks.” He said and knew he should take her up on the offer, but he knew he wouldn't be honest with her. He turned and walked with her to the building and it struck him that, once upon a time, this had been his dream: Dr. Nathan Stark, Nobel laureate, and his beautiful, brilliant wife, Dr. Allison Blake, walking side by side to the one place in the world they could thrive. Global Dynamics, the bastion of scientific progress overlooking the town of Eureka, a town filled with only the greatest minds. They were no longer the outcasts, they were the elite. However...it was only a building and, as Jack had pointed out, it was only what it was because of the people. 

So he looked up at the facade of Global and looked at, as Jack would. It was just a building. An impressive building meant to convey a message, just like the director’s house. Just, like him. He had a carefully constructed facade that he was proud of, Nathan Stark the perfect specimen, but with the brain power and scathing sarcasm to put the fear of God into even the highest ranking military men and the lowest politicians. And that was the man Allison married, and that image was exactly what he gave her. So it wasn’t her fault she treated him like a trophy, it wasn’t her fault that she never could get more out of him but the superficial things, because that was all he allowed. He all he thought he was. Now, however, now he saw that there was a heart to the building and it wasn’t the technology or structure; the building was only protection for what lies within. 

And the real metaphor here was that in the center of that building was the heart of the dream he wanted, the building just a shell of an imposing vision. In the heart of it all was Jack, because he never gave a shit about the titles, prizes or reputation that he had coveted and based his self worth on. Jack saw through it all to the heart and had fallen in love with him because of who he was beneath all these expensive clothes and titles. That’s why they could be so honest with themselves and each other: because Jack walked through the doors and assumed the authority to demand the truth. 

“Nathan?”

“I’m fine.” He assured her. He stopped and stared at the stupid building for too long, internal reflection overcoming him as he braced himself for the battle that he was going to walk into. He should have taken the moment to apologize to Ally for being a shell of a man instead of a real husband, but now wasn’t the time. That was over and he needed to make sure his current husband wasn’t over him. The only answer to how to deal with this was to stop avoiding it and speak the truth, not fear the argument or the outcome. He couldn't control the experiment if he wanted real results. He had to overcome the fear that the reaction might yield results that proved his hypothesis wrong. 

* * *

“We reprogrammed the signal to stimulate the brain’s pleasure center.” Henry explained to Nathan as they watched the victims of the PX-319 sit at the computer consoles and enjoy the movies on their screens. Jack was over on the side of the room, purposely putting himself as far away as possible from Nathan when he came in the lab to check on them. He didn't get the full report of how things went at Taggart's, other than everyone was safe, but the security team hinted that the real fight was going to be between the Director and Sheriff. He could feel that now. “I chose delivery footage each should find benign and peaceful.”

“What do you know, there  _ is  _ a way to reverse it.” Jack said and looked over his shoulder at Nathan as he said it. The tension in the room was probably tripping some meter in the building somewhere, but he didn’t care. Henry seemed immune to it, though he was sure the people watching on EurekaVision were just thrilled with the drama. He looked back to the victims of the paranoia machine, they were all smiling and alive and getting a healthy dose of their fix. Jo was watching people storm Normandy, Taggart crying over some Koalas. He didn’t want to know what Fargo was watching. “You sure do know, Jo.”

“You know her pretty well too.” Henry said with a smile. “They should be in there for another hour, I’m going to go have dinner with Kim and check on them after.”

Jack nodded and watched him leave, leave him alone with Nathan. He wanted to get this over with, he didn’t want this conversation brewing for God knows how long while they both found paperwork or something to occupy them. So he asked, with more anger than he wanted, “So, get your funding?”

“The Congressman was abducted, threatened and humiliated by our people, in our town and on our watch.” Nathan said and kept watching the people in the lab. If he looked at Jack he knew he’d react to how he was glaring at him, the venom in which he asked could have sliced through the safety glass if it hadn’t been directed at him. “But, in spite of the incident, he was impressed by what he saw here.”

“Nice. Vague enough to not be a lie.” Jack shook his head. “I guess I’ll find out what you promised him when it blows up and puts lives at risk.”

“It’s a win for everyone.” Nathan finally gave in and looked at him. Jack closed the gap between them and got close enough that he could feel his breath on his face. Apparently he wasn’t the only one wanting to get this confrontation over with.

"I didn't do this  _ for you _ ." Jack said coldly.

"You don’t say." Nathan said. He really didn’t want to get into this here. Not on live goddamned TV. 

Jack started to walk to the door and then stopped. No. There was enough uncertainty and gut wrenching moments today, he wasn’t going to let this linger. "You really were just going to charge in there and not expect them to react? Everyone would have died."

" _ You _ ran in there." Nathan countered. “You expect  _ me _ to not react?”

"Because it was the right thing to do! This wasn't their fault! They aren't those kind of people!” Jack yelled and walked back over to him, pointing at the people in the chamber enjoying their happy little movies; the only five people in Eureka oblivious of the drama unfolding in the observation lab. “ You escalate and they escalate,I told you that, and you overrode me."

"I told you, I had no choice,” Nathan reminded him and realized he was going to have to let go, allow himself to lose his composure. The only time he was honest was when he was mad. It wasn’t hard to get angry, Jack was an idiot today and almost got himself killed. “And you overrode my decision by running in there anyway." 

"That is my job, not yours."

“Let’s talk about your job then? When it was  _ you _ escalating things, under the influence of some device, when you shot a civilian, when you chased after Jason Anderson for no other reason than a hunch even though you sounded like a paranoid lunatic...I had your back. Because I knew you, I trusted you.” Nathan snapped and pointed at the people in the lab. “They, however, were not acting like themselves, they were out of their minds and under the influence of a mind altering device! You had no reason to trust them because they couldn't trust themselves!”

“This time it _was them_.” Jack said. “They needed someone to believe in them!”

“This time they had the guns.” Nathan reminded him. “And last time, you had a gun too and you shot Henry! So if history repeats itself, when shots were fired, I assumed the worst. I assumed the one sane person in the room got shot: You.”

Jack opened his mouth and shut it. He hated arguing with Nathan because it was like arguing in circles. This was the Nathan that was on the stand as a witness and, back then, he reveled in it. Now he loathed it when it was turned on him, “Don’t treat me like I’m some kind of defense attorney trying to defend some human trafficker. I am a Sheriff. Defending my people, which conveniently is exactly how you phrased it when you ordered me to keep things quiet.”

  
  


"And what would the US Marshals have done?” Nathan pounced on that. “With a congressman held hostage by two trained military personnel and two civilians with experimental guns? Exactly what I did! It's called protocol. It’s been established by people _in your profession_!"

"No, try a negotiator!" Jack corrected him. "And don't ever try an quote a fucking book about law enforcement tactics to me! You're not an expert, experience is worth way more than printed words!"

"Negotiate? With people under the influence of a paranoia inducing device?" Nathan asked. “Really? Because they were capable of rational thought? The one thing the device was supposed to override? I’m sure the authorities would have met their demands for alien autopsy supplies, because _it felt right._ ”

“It’s about buying time! Buying trust! Don’t lecture me on something you don’t specialize in, despite specializing in everything, you don’t do  _ my _ job. You haven’t done my job!”

“You’re not doing your job either!” Nathan screamed back. “Otherwise you would have done exactly what I did!”

“What?  _ Your job _ ?” Jack let out a mocking laugh and opened his arms and looked around the room. “You mean, the PX-319? This fine piece of scientific advancement that got rushed into service without a fucking antidote? An antidote that your mentor had no problems conjuring into existence? The one that is currently in use, right now, and incorporated into the PX-319 like it should have been before you brought it online!?"

"If they didn't hijack our satellite they wouldn't have been affected." Nathan felt the heat of his anger in his face, he was so pissed his collar was getting tight. Attack his work was one way to unleash the floodgates of his wrath. 

"Someone could hack your satellite and beam that shit into anyone's TV? Just like someone hijacked the stupid surveillance feed in this place for entertainment and is watching us fight, with popcorn in hand! Hell, give Fargo a button, I’m sure he could somehow beam the PX-319 into the GD feed right now and we can have everyone in town killing aliens! You're supposed to be a genius and this is the best you can do? Jesus Nathan, what kind of shit show are you running here?"

"First off, I took this job on Monday to clean up after it's previous director who compromised it to the point of almost being shut down.” Nathan said and loosened his tie so he could get enough oxygen for this tirade. “On top of that, I have my judgmental husband screaming at me at every turn thinking I'm downright evil, because he only sees black and white instead of morally gray. He’s so myopic he can’t see anything but his own hero complex, a tunnel-vision that keeps him on a direct road that runs  _ right into danger _ like he did today. He runs into a hostage situation with paranoid armed individuals without a second thought! Real smart, definitely deserve a lecture from you.”

“I had no choice! You wouldn’t listen.” Jack hollered back. "They would have _died_!"

“This isn't about trusting your ability or experience, it's about understanding the science that caused them to act the way they did.  _ The science _ which was developed to override rational thought and make them paranoid. It wasn't about believing you could convince them, it was about trusting  _ what I made _ and you just got lucky that it _was_ rushed into service! So yes, I reacted, I called in security because I was scared I was going to lose you! I was scared I got you killed by my own hand!"

"That's  _ worse _ !" Jack exclaimed.

"Oh it gets better. I am so busy juggling my new job, this impossible budget, my doomed marriage, the multiple therapy sessions, multiple houses, multiple projects I have to fix myself, the military and politicians, two kids I'm trying desperately to not disappoint...that I'm allowing this ‘shit show’ to run on live feed so that I can save some time. Time I am trying to spend with my family. GD has employees used to Warren King's reign and I have to vet them all. So, to save time, I'm using the Fargo Channel to allow them to watch and report on each other, to let normal paranoia scare them into fixing the problem themselves."

"Holy shit." Jack calmed down a bit as he considered the consequences of that.

"Don't worry. No audio.". Nathan pointed to the ceiling and answered the inevitable question. "Fargo is stealing the feed using old technology and cables, the intercoms were removed ages ago. It's fuzzy enough it censors the data and can't be zoomed in on because of the shit resolution."

“I…” Jack looked around. All of this was….for show? _A show_? A show of Nathan’s brilliance? Henry’s benevolence? His own...protection of these people? Was this all a way to secure their place among the people here without ever having to interact with them? It was a cheat!?

“Let’s go back to the point you made about my shit work on _this_ project.” Nathan said and pointed to the people in the room. “The PX-319! It was barely functional two days ago. This solution created, as you pointed out, by Henry with only a little bit of time could have been an option for defusing the situation at Taggart’s.”

“Oh, I’m calling bullshit!” Jack said. 

“Check the time stamps if you don’t believe me.”

“Not about Henry’s ability, about your willingness to tap into it!” Jack said. “You were ready to send in that team.”

“Look at the time stamp!” Nathan pulled it up on the computer. “Ten minutes. He would have had this online in ten fucking minutes but we didn’t have the need for that because we have _you_! You charging in there like a big, damned hero when you could have just had some fucking faith you could have talked me down!”

“Oh my God!” Jack wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh at that or strangle him. “You’re blaming me for _your_ decision to send a tactical team into the compound!? First to save me, then because I couldn’t save you!”

“I’m saying there are always options, you narrow minded, self-sacrificing idiot!” Nathan screamed. “You just can’t see them because you are way too comfortable with the idea of sacrificing yourself for your job! Way too comfortable with putting you body in the line of fire to protect someone, like it’s the default option!”

“You didn’t complain much when it was your body I was protecting!”

“I wasn’t in love with you!” 

“You shouldn’t have to be in love with someone to value their life!”

“It was _your job_ , we had a more important task at hand, and I knew the risks. We both had jobs to do and respected them. You were there to protect me so I could testify.”

“And now I’m here to protect  _ them _ .” Jack said and pointed at the people at the war games consoles. “They might accept the risks but that doesn’t mean they should be treated like they are acceptable sacrifices for the greater good. For science! For Justice! For God's sake, what are we even arguing about anymore!?” . 

“You, running into danger without even trying to see if there is another solution other than the one that gets you hurt. You, not valuing _your life_ more than the incessant need to save everyone!”

"See, this multitasking brilliant shit is why I worry about you." Jack shook his head. “You’re spinning this situation around to a possible scenario that was not the probable scenario. You had no intentions of calling Henry to see if he was working on this. You were going to save the Congressman, at whatever cost, because life is cheap compared to the budget for this place!”

“At that time, yes. However, you never leave anything alone. You would have been there to make that call to Henry, looking for a desperate answer to this and bought us the time!”

“ _ What!? _ ” Jack felt like his brain was going to explode. This wasn’t even an argument between husbands anymore, it was between a cop and a scientist. This was a battle he wouldn’t win. It was the natural progression of things, they didn’t know where they stood personally so they fell back on what they knew they were good at professionally. “Are you arguing an alternative timeline with me? When you know damned well, and just admitted, you were going to send in that team?”

"Yes. The person I was in that moment may not have been the man I was five minutes after arguing with you.” Nathan calmed down a little as he said that. “I never am. I walked into this building ten minutes ago, changed because of you.”

“You shouldn’t need me to tell you that killing people is wrong.”

“You honestly can _not_ boil this down to a simple statement like that!”

“Why? Because it’s not easy to hear?” Jack countered.

“No, because you are so used to seeing the bad in people you can't believe the man you love is doing what he thinks is right for the whole damned world."

"Every villain thinks they're the hero of their story."

"Your job has jaded you." Nathan growled.

"So has yours." Jack replied. "A politician forced a program into existence before it was ready and suffered the consequences. Did I want him killed, no. But I didn't want those five people, our people, to pay for that mistake. No."

"I run this place, it was my mistake. I finished this project, I made it.” Nathan said. “Fine. If that’s what you want to hear, fine. Arrest me for the theoretical murder of five, no six, people if you are so obsessed with the scenario that didn’t happen.”

"I hate arguing with you!" Jack screamed. "Stop talking about what could have happened and what did happen!"

"What happened? You saved everyone!" Nathan opened his arms and looked around the room. "Henry fixed the machine! Everyone is saved, for now. Until next time, then you go back to trying to get yourself killed!"

“What did you expect me to do if I took this job? Why did you think this place would save us?" Jack asked. “Did you think I’d just throw up my hands and back away as _you_ charged in and cleaned up your mistakes with your own police squad? Is that how Cobb ran things? Let GD clean up it’s mess and don’t ask where the mess was buried after the fact, or who you buried with it?”

"Yes." 

"It was your mistake, then, thinking I'd settle for the job that Cobb vacated.” Jack said and shook his head. “His Jeep that won’t come out of 4 wheel drive or go above 70 without shaking. His pissed-off, overqualified Deputy who clearly resented ‘protocol’ because she was utilized as an accessory, like a gun. You expected me to take his empty chair..that chair in the middle of a wormhole he could have easily avoided if he got off his ass and did his job? This ‘Let GD bail their own asses out of the fire and I'll only show up with a threat to call in support if they don't’ is  _ not _ police work! Fuck that. He was protecting himself and Jo and nobody else. I will protect this town because I am their Sheriff and you are going to answer to me for what hell you create and put them through."

"That's not your job, you can’t just assume authority you don’t have. GD does, and always will, police itself."

"But you expect me to talk you down off the ledge when you’re going to make a bad decision and kill the victims of your experiment gone wrong?” Jack asked. “Well, I’m not your assistant and I sure as hell am not your accomplice. And I’m not sure...where that puts me as your husband. I don't think we can work together." 

"Excuse me?". Nathan said. "You're going to act like I did anything out of the ordinary? Really? You're going to tell me that any of your superiors would have allowed you into that house to negotiate? You’re going to be the hypocrite and act like you didn’t do the  _ same questionable shit _ this week that they were being accused of and allowed to run loose? What if I shut you down like I should have when you ‘lost time’? I suspected you were drugged, but I listened to you."

"No,but that's not.." Jack put his hands on his hips. “I wasn’t….drugged and that’s not..what we’re talking about. Nathan, stop changing the topic because you’re losing the argument!”

“I’m pointing out we work well together and this time was the exception because you  _ didn’t work with me _ .” Nathan said through gritted teeth. Why was arguing with him so damned frustrating! 

Jack felt like they were making the same points but ricocheting all over the room after taking aim at a target. He just wanted to be done with this conversation because there was way too much to digest and he had to walk it off. “That’s not…the point. That’s not...” 

  
  


"Why I did it?” Nathan snapped. “We'll it's why I hesitated to make the call to send in that team. Because I believe in you and your abilities. However, I  _ will _ make that call next time because your life is fucking valuable. To me. To Zoe. To this town. This week you have done so fucking much, not even a full week. You are the most valuable asset Eureka has right now. Everyone accepts the risks here, Jack, they know what they signed up for. You rush in as if people are thinking with their hearts and not their ego and pride. That's why you think I could be evil, right? I'm a scientist, I play God by changing nature and challenging laws. Well that's everyone here. Saving people, means saving them from themselves and why they are here in the first place."

"Then I'm going to save you from yourself, _asshole_." Jack screamed.

"And I'm going to save you from yourself too, _idiot_." Nathan screamed back.

"You told me you weren't showing me preferential treatment."

"I lied. I'm not impartial. I believe in you too much, I love you too fucking much."

"That has to stop! The personal decisions! I can't have you choosing to save me over someone else! This is the job I signed up for, protecting people!" Jack said and backed up a few steps and walked around to show he was done with this. He disengaged from the conversation physically to allow adrenaline to subside.

Nathan watched him, watched him walk in circles and think things out. Think and physically shake out his body’s own chemicals causing him to react to everything being said. Jack didn’t understand the science of it all, yet he truly did. He approached it from a behavioral aspect, which was why it was so fascinating to see what road he took to the same destination. It was why his perspective was exactly what Nathan needed to hear, because people were more than their biological makeup. "Then where does that leave us?"

"Well my Deputy is in there watching war movies and getting her mind back on track so I'm on duty. Where you sleep tonight is your choice. However you bail on this and we are done because this is not how marriage works. We figure this out now before we get too much further." Jack said and didn’t look at him, just walked to the door. "Too many other people are involved to keep going like this. The longer we drag out this decision about us, the more people we'll hurt."

"I'm working tonight as well.:” Nathan said and felt like Jack just kicked him in the gut again. Figure out where you're sleeping tonight? Drag out the decision? Jack..still was ready to walk out of his life, despite everything he said he still wasn't holding to their agreement to give things a chance. He still had those divorce papers hanging over both of them and Nathan felt a little betrayed by that. So much for honesty. 

Jack stopped, his hand on the handle and looked over his shoulder at him. "Over-promised something to the Congressman?"

"Working with Kevin, actually. Ally asked me to." Nathan replied and Jack took that as evidence he was still a human being capable of making good decisions. He was being honest, he wasn’t being manipulative to salvage his image. He wanted him to know he wasn’t so fucking cold-hearted. No, he just wanted to stop lying about things. There was no reason to keep anything from Jack anymore.

"OK." Jack said and tried to think through everything and just felt overwhelmed. "I'm going to need time to think."

"I'm not apologizing.". Nathan said. "I was right to call in security when I did, especially since the Sheriff's Department was compromised. "

"It's not always about you being right, Nathan."

"Touche."

* * *

“Good to see you’re safe.” Beverly said as Faraday packed his bags. 

“Are you?” Faraday asked.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Beverly asked defensively.

“I feel like I was set up. That naked kid you were having a therapy session with was talking about aliens when I left with Stark. Then I come to find out he ran out of here and told his conspirators that I was the infiltrator. Those people were talking like they thought I was a spy, not an alien.” Faraday zipped up his suitcase.

“Now who’s paranoid?”

“You should be.” Faraday said. “You’ve underestimated Jack Carter, by a long-shot. He’s incredibly capable and good with people, hardly someone you want watching over or working beside Nathan Stark. Stark's flaws are his strengths, together they are a force to be reckoned with, _especially_ if you plan to stay here in Eureka and feed the Consortium information.”

“Speaking of information, what did you learn about the Artifact?”

“I struck a deal with Stark to put you on the Artifact team.” Faraday informed her and turned to see she was impressed. “The abduction put him in a bind, he caved quickly.”

“I didn’t have you abducted.” Beverly repeated.

Faraday smiled at her, someone else he underestimated. That wouldn’t happen again. “I questioned the mental stability of his people, he either was going to give in or give up the Artifact. So now he has to subject his people to your scrutiny, including himself, which I hope you will capitalize on.”

“You doubt my abilities?” She asked.

“I think you dismissed Carter too quickly because he’s not Allison Blake. However, Nathan Stark fell in love with that man for a reason. That love made him emotional. There is tension there, right now, you should make something of if you’re going to protect your own ass while you keep tabs on the Artifact. The Artifact is...is huge. It’s not going to be something they can figure out in just one lifetime. It’s going to take an invested, long term stay here. Carter, will see through you eventually. He’s good.”

“So his sin isn’t pride, after all?” Beverly asked and when Faraday looked at her confused, she clarified, “Stark’s? Last we talked you thought it was his greatest sin.”

“I thought he was one dimensional, a mistake I made from seeing the political side of him, but there are Seven Deadly Sins for a reason.” Faraday said. “And I don’t think Carter is so innocent either, despite his clever use of truth as a weapon. They both have weaknesses you can find and use, mainly each other.”

Beverly watched the helicopter touch down in her yard and considered that. Faraday was a good judge of people, well of adversaries, at least. “I’ll keep that in mind. Have a safe trip.”


	43. The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 43

**The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth**

* * *

"I thought you and Stark would be home celebrating." Jo said as she walked into the Sheriff's Department and saw Carter at his desk. She knew he wouldn't be, but it was a great ice-breaker. As soon as Henry let them out of the lab the security guys swarmed her again to tell her about the huge fight Carter and Stark had in the PX-319 lab. Then they showed it to her and it was glorious but horrible. She knew the one way to pay Carter back for saving her ass was to save his. Easier said than done, when you only knew your boss for a week , but that was going to be a way better thank you than words. "I heard he got the funding."

"Wonder at what cost.". Jack said and shrugged and went back to cleaning his sidearm. Puke got in  _ everything _ . He was thankful the cleaning solvent was way more noxious smelling than what he was trying to clean. 

“I’m guessing that you two didn’t see eye to eye about your decision to give us another hostage?” She said and sat down on his desk to watch him clean his gun.

"We argued. He wanted to send in a tactical team on you guys and I wanted to negotiate." Jack said and got out the copper brush to scrub some more. 

"He was right.". Jo said and he looked up at her. "What you did was stupid but….saved my ass. So thanks for not giving up on us."

"Are we good?". Jack asked. "Because I can't help but feel like maybe some of what you said might have had substance."

"The town thinks Stark put you in that chair, but they’re finding out that they were wrong. You're not his lackey, not by a long shot." She said. 

"Another bonus to having GD surveillance on the TV, huh? Front seat to all the fights.” Jack said and put some oil on the piece he was working on before reassembling it. Maybe he should have taken it home and put it in the shower, sonic cleaning was an option for guns. He wondered if his shower had an option for guns. Sure as hell didn’t have an option for water. 

"You two _do_ argue a lot." Jo said. Maybe she and Jack actually did have a bit in common. "But it's without substance, like debate. Push each other a little to make sure you're at your best?"

"Oh, it had plenty of substance this time; nasty whale fat levels of substance that sprayed everywhere." Jack said and couldn't help but wonder why that blubber was so..juicy. He thought it had to be rendered down to oil, blubber and whale meat was chewy. Of so he'd thought. OK, he didn't want to know. "I think he might go too far with what he rationalizes as "for science". Seen a lot of people go down the wrong path rationalizing a lot for their families and what they thought they were entitled to.” 

"You go too far for ‘protect and serve’." Jo pointed out. "You two are two sides of the same coin.” 

“Yeah. He's right, I am jaded and bring my work home."

“You don't get to be part of the elite in your profession without it being part of the fabric of your make up somehow."

“Speaking of the elite in our professions.” Jack looked up at her. “Are _we_ good? You and me?”

“I might have been upset about not getting your job.” She admitted. "OK, I was livid."

“Especially after you did what Cobb told you to do?” Jack asked. “Felt like you were being groomed for his job and then I walk in and don’t understand anything about protocol and pass the interview first time? Pass the job interview I didn't even know I was here for?”

“Yeah.” She said. “I didn’t agree with his approach, I like your way better, but he was the boss. He was here for way longer than me and that’s how things were done.”

“Yeah well, that shit ends now.” Jack said. “We’re the Sheriff's Department and we’re going to sheriff.”

“Nice.” She said with a laugh. 

“Working on my mission statement.” Jack said and smiled. “Are _we_ good though?”

“We’re good.” She said. “You’re one hell of a detective, I’m enjoying working with you.” 

"I’m enjoying working with you too. You’re one hell of a soldier, a great leader. You’ll get your break. You're pretty smart, too. I don’t exactly have that going for me, or else I’d understand more than just basic gun care and assembly and be able to appreciate the Medusafuser more."

She laughed. "Not smart enough for this town. However this town is built on challenging each other and pushing boundaries and you seem to like to push things and challenge people.”

“Especially my husband.”

“Maybe that's why you and him argue so much? You like the fight? Just saying, as a soldier, I wouldn't have become what I was if I was a pacifist. I like a fight, I like to show what I'm made of and I love to defend what I believe in. You have to be comfortable with confrontation to do what we do, sometimes that comfort level means we stay in that zone all the time."

"Yeah. I just don't know how I feel about him making a decision to protect me over other people."

"You did the same thing for him.". She snorted. "You two are made for each other."

"I'm being serious." 

"If you're worried about him going mad scientist then why not accept he's going to stay grounded just to protect you?" Jo asked. 

"Feels wrong." Jack said and finished putting his gun back together. “He told me he would have changed his mind about sending in the tactical team if I had just talked to him. That, had we talked or argued, I would have called Henry to beg for a solution and he would have told me he was close to it. That would have made Nathan back off. I don’t know. I can see how things might have played out, but he forced me to take action by taking action himself.”

"Not sacrificing yourself at every turn...isn't something you should feel guilty about. Trust me, I've lost people I was supposed to protect too." Jo shook her head. “You keep running into buildings loaded with armed Fargos like you do, you really should take his insurance.”

"Not until I get his sperm.” Jack said and leaned back in his chair and smiled at her.. “Oh, is this...you making up for not oversharing and showing you trust me?"

"You came into a fortress to save us. Yeah, you crazy idiot , you have my trust." Jo shrugged. "I got your back, we're the only normal people in this town, right?"

Jack smiled at her. “Good, I need a partner. I need a friend here. This job is bad enough without adding in the fact that Nathan and I are married and I...I feel like I do nothing but look for problems. I am jaded, because of how things worked out with Abby. I get scared and push him away, not remembering I hurt her too. I’m not sure how to fix  _ me _ .”

“I think there’s something called a self-fulfilling prophecy that helps ruin relationships so you are ‘right’ and also not vulnerable.” Jo said and got up to go over to her desk. She pulled a magazine out of her drawer. “Since you’re not studying for your gun test you might as well get some relationship advice and hot tips for fall fashion.”

“Oh cool.” Jack said and watched the woman’s magazine hit his desk. He read the cover. “I was wondering what thong I should get to accent these uniform pants. Oh yeah….definitely need to call more attention to my ass.”

“Won’t kill you to know.” Jo said and watched him pick up the magazine. “You have a teenage daughter.”

“Oh, no. I…” Jack threw the magazine down. “You got this  _ from her _ ?”

“Yup.”

“You should come over and hang out.” Jack said. “Baseball? Beer? Makeovers?”

“With you or Zoe?” She asked. “You’re going to need the full Spa treatment if you expect something to be done with all those crows feet. If you take Nathan’s insurance you get access to all GD’s features like the spa.”

“Eureka  _ has a spa? _ ”

“Do you read  _ anything _ ?”

“Well I’m not reading this right now.” Jack pushed the magazine aside and grabbed his gun manual. “I got homework.”

“I was super impressed with your identification of Fargo’s gun back at Taggart's.” She said. “As well as you referencing our prior conversation to try and remind me to be a functioning adult again.”

“Thought the 'oral' and 'penal' mentions would bring you back from the dark side.” Jack grinned.

“And the tentacle thing.” She said with a laugh. “You really have a gift for improv.”

“It’s how I win people over.” Jack said and pulled out the tentacle arm from his desk. “When they’re laughing they can’t see what I’m hiding in my drawers.” 

Jo started laughing. “Well, maybe we should work on another PSA with that message in mind? I’ve yet to get on board with the new Sheriff’s directive and mission statement.” 

“Oh, _one_ alien autopsy reminds you about your love for anal probes and you think you can handle, this?” Jack asked and wiggled the tentacle around. “H.R. Nightmare?”

Jo exploded in laughter. “You named it!”

“Actually Nathan did, sort of.” Jack said and tossed it at her. “Make him a name badge.”

“I’ll get on that…” She listened to him chuckle and shook her head. "Not what I meant!"

“Need some lube?” Jack asked and tossed the gun lubricant at her. 

She grabbed it and set everything down on her desk, she walked right into that one. “Yeah. We need to clean, inventory and restock all the weapons I stole.”

“Which leads us to a weird Catch-22 since I couldn’t take possession of them yet Henry could?” Jack said. 

“Yeah, bureaucracy sucks.”

“Well, he locked them all up in the gun safe to be safe.” Jack said and took the electronic key out of his desk and tossed it to her. “And I haven't touched it since.”

"That's because you don't want to clean whale parts off them." Jo said and pointed to the manual on his desk. “What about the study guide?”

“I’ve been hitting the books, even asked S.A.R.A.H. to quiz me, and I’m trying.” He said. “I got all night to study now that all the puke is out of my gun.” 

“Well, I don’t have anywhere else to be, so let’s go over it.”

“Really?” Jack asked. “Are you testing me or testing yourself?”

“I could really use some grounding in something right now.” She said. “Especially after leading a strike force to kidnap a Congressman and giving Fargo a gun.”

“Vince had the...BMFG Liquidator.” Jack said. “I recognized that.”

“And the size of the magazine?” She asked and pressed the button, dropping the gun safe down for them.

“Trick question.” Jack said as he stood up and carried his gun over to the safe to see if he could get a new holster to fit it, one that wasn’t stained by whatever the Congressman ate. “It uses a single-chamber artillery.”

“Wow, keep this up and you're going to pass the test.”

“I don’t know, I tend to choke on the exam.” Jack said and opened up a drawer to get a back up utility belt. 

“Well, this is the exam.” She said and he looked up at her, surprised. 

He grabbed a holster, shut the drawer and held it all his arm, not sure what to say. “Jo…”

“The manual didn’t say anything about it being written so…” She said and shrugged. “I figured there would be less of a chance of you choking if it was oral considering what you’re used to fitting down your esophagus.”

Jack started laughing and she joined him, neither of them heard the door to the Sheriff’s office open and he almost dropped his gun when Nathan materialized behind them in his dark and angry puff of glory. 

"I'm not done." Nathan took a deep breath before beginning his rant. "You can  _ not _ keep judging me for how I do my job."

"Yes, I can." Jack said. So now it was time for Round 2...or was it 3? Whatever. As sure as the world spun, they were going to fight.

Jo tapped on the button to send the gun case back into its secure cove. No reason to have that laying around when this all went to hell.

"You have _no_ idea what it takes to keep that place running. What it takes to keep it funded." Nathan growled.

"Yet somehow it's stayed running and funded since 1947  _ without you _ ." Jack rolled his eyes.

“You know who I was and what I did before we came here.” Nathan reminded him.

“Kinda.” Jack said. “You were arguing with politicians about science. You talked down to defense lawyers in a major criminal case. You were never the guy who made the decision to call in a tactical team and raid a lab where armed individuals under the influence of a paranoia machine you made were holding a politician hostage.”

“Jo.” Nathan said and looked at her. “Your professional opinion on how that situation should have been handled?”

“Oh don’t get me in the middle of this.”

“No, answer him. I value your opinion.” Jack said. “Apparently he’s open to other people’s opinions, just not mine.”

“Stark made the textbook call, he followed protocol.” She admitted and Jack rolled his head back and looked at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure if he was hoping the gun safe would come and crush him or if he was just being dramatic. “You only suspected us to be compromised by the paranoia device, you knew for a fact we were mentally unstable, you knew we had a hostage, you...basically ran into a burning building. It was a terrible decision on your part.”

Jack breathed and rolled his head, just in time to watch Nathan smile, that smile that said ‘Told you so’. OK, now he was mad again. “It’s always about you being right, isn’t it?”

“No. This is about you being pissed at me for making a decision you didn’t like because you had personal feelings for those involved.”

“You mean… _.you _ making a decision because of your personal feelings for me.”

“It was one factor. I made the call to the security team before you took off running to save the day so that they would be there if we needed them." Nathan glared at him. “My feelings for you made me hesitate which gave you the opening to run in there and be an idiot.”

“So you’re mad at yourself for hesitating?” Jack asked. “You do understand you don’t get to tell me how to do my job? That I’m going to work independent of you? That I have way more experience in situations like this than you do and you should let me handle them? Without your damned security team, I could have resolved this without you.”

There was silence and Jo snorted in amusement as they stared at each other, unsure what the problem was or who was wrong. "Wow, Nathan Stark loves someone more than science. Who would have thunk it."

“Not helping.” Nathan said and looked over at her.

“You two need to figure out how to work together.” She said and tried to dissolve the tension between them so they could stop seeing red and see each other. “Seems simple enough. Why not go home and remember why you’re here and why you want it to work?”

“I got…” Jack said and she cut him off.

“Time.” Jo said. “We have time on Monday for the test. I’d like to not have a new boss to break in on Monday, so go home." 

“Especially the way you _ break  _ them.” Jack said and put his gun in the holster. 

“Don’t quit. Use your filthy filthy thoughts and mouth to shut him up. Just, work on it.” She said. "If you're really value my opinion, that is."

“You’re right.” Jack said.

“Thank you.” Nathan said and went to turn around.

“Not you. _Her_.” Jack said. “Jury is still out _on you_.”

“That’s what friends are for.” Jo said then handed him the tentacle. “Take this, just in case.”

“That’s  _ wrong _ .” Jack said and she patted his cheek and winked. 

“Maybe you’re both a little right and wrong.” Jo said and put her hands up and backed out of the office. “Have a nice night, Carter. Thanks for having my back.”

Jo disappeared out the front door and Nathan looked at Jack, he was still upset. Still hurt. Jo tried to steal his thunder by calming Jack down. Maybe...it was nice and helpful but dammit….he wasn't going to just write this all off as a disagreement _on tactics_.

“What?” Jack asked and put his belt on, grabbed his coat put his tentacle in the coat and threw it over his arm. “Come on Nathan, just spit it out! You storm in here and I know you well enough to know you didn’t get all pissed off about our argument again, that’s my thing. I never let things go, I say I’m OK and then I’m really not. Blah, blah, Dr. Abby Carter says so. So what? What are you really mad about?”

“I thought you agreed to stop hanging that divorce over my head as a threat?” Nathan answered. 

“When.. did I do that?” Jack asked honestly. He was so mad, he didn't remember half of what he had actually said back at the lab.

“‘Pick where you sleep tonight or it’s over?’” Nathan quoted. “‘The longer we drag out  _ this decision _ about us, the more people we'll hurt? _ ’  _ We made a decision to give it six months but apparently you didn’t really agree to that. _ ”  _

  
  
“I was mad.” Jack said. He really did need to work on saying what he meant and meaning what he said. This was the kind of thing that kept him and Abby circling around the drain, because he never let things go and she finally got sick of living in a tempest, always. Never calm seas, always a tempest. 

“Yeah, truth comes out when you’re mad.” Nathan reminded him. “You wouldn’t have said it if..”

“There was truth in that or you wouldn’t be mad.” Jack snapped, not wanting to be put on the spot of this. He was allowed to feel like he wasn’t cornered, he was allowed to see that there could be an escape route if he screwed up. That...was horrible. God, he was fucked up. Oh God,  _ he fucked up _ .

“I hate how you twist things around.” Nathan said and realized maybe this was still a little about him too.

“It’s called Reverse Occam’s Razor and you should get used to it, because that is how things go in this town.” Jack said and walked over to turn off the lights. He was seeing now  _ a lot  _ of problems he needed to address and he wanted to talk them out with the one person he trusted more than anyone. 

“Hmmm.”

“Yeah? Likey the science talk?” Jack asked, looking over his shoulder at the man he loved so much he was willing to push him away to keep him safe….from him. 

“A like the Cartereque spin on it for sure.” Nathan replied and saw the softness in Jack’s face, the jaw was no longer clenched. His eyes showed a bit of uncertainty, as if he wasn’t sure where to take his next step. 

“Do we leave this fight in the office or take it home?” Jack asked as his finger hesitated over the light switch on the wall.

“What’s going to work?” Nathan asked. 

“I don’t think we need more boundaries you decide you  _ have _ to push.” Jack said, his voice light and with a bit of humor. The need to defuse things an absolute need right now. If he turned off the lights, if he turned his back on Nathan right now, he was going to -and should- lose him. He was the one who really needed to choose where he slept tonight, not Nathan. 

“Oh, so you’re not trying to redefine how I do things _ at all? _ ” Came the reply, laced with sarcasm.

“Do we like the fight?.” Jack asked and flipped off the light, comfortable now he would not let the door close on them. “Is that why we tangle over everything?”

“I think we’re reacting….well I like to think this is more like .the dissolution process in biochemistry versus the dissolution process legally. A solute needs to dissolve in a solvent to form a solution.” Nathan said. “It takes a chemical reaction to bring that solution into reality. There are factors, like concentration, pressure, polarity and temperature that affect solubility. Some bonds require more heat and energy to break. In an exothermic reaction, increasing temperature decreases the solubility of the solute.”

“You really do make science metaphors sound  _ so good _ .” Jack said and went to the door and held it for him. “So, the answer is no. I really don’t want to leave this talk for just the office because I love the sound of your voice. I really love when you talk science to me. I love and hate how you make me question myself. I love  _ you _ .”

“I love you too, Jack. I love how you’ve pressured me to change, but breaking down the structure of what I’ve worked my whole life to strengthen….produces heat. Backlash. Fear.” Nathan said as he walked out the door and then stopped on the sidewalk and waited for Jack to join him. It was a nice night and he looked up at the stars and then to Cafe Diem across the street where Ally and Kevin were enjoying dessert together. “I can take the arguments, I expect them. I can’t take the fact that you think I won’t come home because of them, mainly because I haven’t given you a reason to think that.”

Jack felt like he just laid the weight of the world on him for that comment. “Yeah, that was a low blow. I’m the one who never came home. I’m really trying to tone out what I hear about you from when you were married to Allison. It’s just that…”

“You’re a cop. You can’t.”

“I’m also an asshole when I get in a fight and I shouldn't have said that.” Jack said. “I lashed out because I guess I have a mold I held myself to my entire life as well. It’s hard to question yourself and not question everything you’ve done that you believed was right. 

“I can’t expect you to ignore the facts. If anything I should be the one to tell you.” Nathan said as he looked across the street at his ex-wife and step-son. 

“I didn’t exactly give you a run down of everything that happened between Abby and I.” Jack said. “I guess I have to remember that because I don’t want to be judged for those mistakes either. I don’t like who I was, I hate looking back and seeing who I was and how I hurt the people I loved most.”

“Yeah.”

“So yeah, I don’t need to know what happened between you two.” Jack said and pulled out his keys. “I have to stop running away from who I was, giving myself a place to run other than  _ to you _ . I don’t want to make those same mistakes but...it’s so hard to recognize what I’m doing in the moment. The divorce thing is about me and my insecurities and a way to hurt you..I shouldn't have said that.”

"I get it. My sperm donation was a way to hurt her." Nathan admitted as he looked across the street at Ally. There was a lot of baggage there too.  “You do need to know what I did, because I see my mistakes everywhere I look. My history is here, at least the history I don’t want to repeat. I was tempted to not go home. Then I got mad at you for being a hypocrite and decided to give you a reason to tell me not to come home. Easy way to transfer the blame.”

“Self-preservation...no self fulfilling prophecy.” Jack said. Then as an after thought he added, “Jo gave me a magazine about that. It’s on my desk.”

“The one about the lastest _thong_ technology?”

“ _How_ did you see that? Do you have bionic eyes? You were on the _other side_ of my office yelling?”

“Wishful thinking?” Nathan said with a soft smile.

“The only thing I want between my ass cheeks, _is you_.” Jack said and Nathan raised his eyebrows. 

“Self-fulfilling prophecy?”

“Probably not tonight, that’s a statement in general about invasive underwear and my personal ass preferences.” Jack said and his phone rang and he looked down at it. “S.A.R.A.H.’s calling.”

“Tell her we have reason to celebrate. I got funding.”

“No. With the mood you put her in, she’ll serve up champagne glasses of your sperm that she checked out of the library. I've dealt with enough questionable stomach contents today, not in the mood for that. We can just tell her we’ll be home for dinner.”

Nathan cocked an eyebrow as Jack's phone stopped ringing and then his started. “She must be watching the surveillance feed.”

“There are cameras out here too!?” Jack asked and spun around. He flailed his arms as if he was fighting off invisible prying eyes. “That  _ has to stop _ .”

“No. She noted when I left GD, knows how long it takes for me to get home and knew we fought.” Nathan said with a smile and answered his phone. “Hello, S.A.R.A.H.”

_ “Hello Dr. Stark. I was wondering if you will be coming home for dinner? I made your favorite.” _

“Jack and I are just leaving town now. We’ll see you soon.” Nathan replied and got a happy hum from her. She had used her programming to analyse his voice, tell if he was lying or upset. Clearly he had calmed down enough to get a hum of approval. He hung up. Talk about invasive surveillance, but Jack had no problems with her.

Jack leaned on the roof of his Jeep as he saw some people walking down the sidewalk stop and stare at his flailing. He’d play it off as...bugs. He swatted at a non-existent mosquito and then remembered it was cold enough to not have bugs out. He settled for playing with the emergency light assembly like he was doing maintenance. “So how long are you going to allow that surveillance feed to continue?”

“Fargo is taking it down as we speak.” Nathan said and walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. “I was terrified of losing you today and I know it’s your job but it doesn’t make it any easier. I can try to make your job a little easier on you.”

“Not sure _that_ was the lesson that was supposed to be learned.”

“What was that problem solving principle of yours?” Nathan snapped his fingers and then smiled. “Oh, Reverse Occam’s Razor. If you can blame GD for it, you’re probably right.”

“ _ You _ run GD. That means I blame you.” Jack said and laughed. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“It’s Eureka,  _ we _ make the impossible a reality.” Nathan said and reached out and stroked Jack’s cheek.

“We, huh?” Jack asked, swallowing hard as Nathan got that dreamy scientist sound to his voice as they leaned against his Jeep under this clear, star-filled sky night.  _ We _ . An invitation to be a part of this town, no, an invitation to make this town theirs and protect it together. He had said that before when they argued, how it was ‘ _ our  _ town, _ our _ people, and this happened on  _ our  _ watch.’. Nathan said that when he was pissed, it meant that this was ingrained in him, this partnership. This wasn’t a question of his way or my way, but _our_ way. How was that going to work when they never went the same way to any destination? 

“Yeah. You and I are going to argue over so much and that’s exactly what we need. It’s about compromises.” Nathan ran his thumb over his lips and then leaned in and kissed them. “I can’t hold back scientific advancement, Eureka works because it allows people the freedom to explore their ideas. I can’t be nice to them, like you want, because encouraging them will only make things exponentially worse. I can try to get ahead of what goes wrong but we’re dealing with such complex probabilities that predicting…”

Jack pulled him down by his tie and kissed him. Yeah, shutting him up this way was definitely a great solution. “I’ll give you some math to think about. If you and I are not at home in ten minutes, it’s going to equal no dinner.”

“Right.” Nathan said. “Home.”

“Home.” Jack reiterated and gave him another kiss. “Try not to get bagged and tagged by Taggart on your way home. He has your centerfold on the wall in his lab and I’m pretty sure he might want to mount and stuff you because you’re a magnificent specimen of the species.”

“Of course he does.” Nathan said. “He’s told me.”

“Get in your car.” Jack said and shoved him towards his BMW. He was grinning at him, that amazing grin that just made him feel warm inside. “No speeding.”

“Only if you catch me.”

“What?” Jack asked and that was enough of a delay to give Nathan a head start as he jumped back and launched to the driver’s side of his car, hit the key fob and started it remotely. By the time Jack realized the race was on, Nathan was already opening his door. “No! That is not how this works! Did you learn _anything_ today!?”

“Good luck catching me with that Jeep stuck in 4 wheel drive.” 

“No!” Jack said and Nathan was already in the driver's seat and the car was already pulling out of the spot. He screamed as he rolled down his window and looked at him, “This is why you piss me off! Laws are meant to be followed all the time! Not just applicable when someone catches you doing something illegal!”

“Better catch me, then.” Nathan winked and took off.

“Son of a bitch.” Jack said and turned around and looked at his Jeep who just wasn’t going to be up to the challenge, especially stuck in 4x4 with a questionable transmission. “OK, you’re going to spend the next week at Henry’s getting some upgrades, baby. This is the last time he wins this race.”


	44. Gonna Take A Lot To Drag Me Away From You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As this Corona-Wri-Mos fic approaches 100,000 words, the writer gets a little treat: Africa by Toto.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 44

**Gonna Take A Lot to Drag Me Away From You**

* * *

  
  
  
  


“Actually Occam’s Razor is too often boiled down to not making assumptions, but what William of Ockam actually wrote translates to ‘It is futile to do with more what can be done with fewer.’”

“You just have to be right, don’t you?” Jack asked and took a swig of beer as they enjoyed dinner as a family. Nathan was smiling at him, smugly, and that made him want to prove him wrong. So, he opened up his phone and held up his finger. 

“Who are you calling?” Nathan asked.

“I’m using my Google Translate.” Jack said and called Henry without telling anyone. As the man picked up, but before he could say ‘Hello’ he put his phone down and looked at Nathan. “So say it in latin and tell me again what it translates to.”

“Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate.” Nathan said and then repeated himself. “It is futile to do with more what can be done with fewer.”

_ “Actually it translates to ‘Entities should not be multiplied without necessity’.”  _ Henry corrected him.

Jack grinned as Nathan realized he just called his old teacher to school him on this. “So, I guess you’re wrong too, Dr. Nathan Stark, Phd but _not in latin_.”

“Thanks, Henry.” Nathan said dryly and reached out for his wine.

_ “Anytime.”  _ Henry laughed.

“Hey!” Jack said before Henry could hang up. “Um, I’m thinking about having a barbecue tomorrow at our house. Sort of a delayed housewarming party. You free?”

“ _Sure! I’d love to. What can I bring?_ ”

"Uh..." Jack didn't even know if they had a grill. 

_ :Just bring yourself, Dr. Deacon. I will be able to provide all the food and drinks you could want.” _

"Bring Kim". Nathan suggested.

“Yeah, and you can meet S.A.R.A.H.! Our house!” Jack said as he knew Nathan was thinking about offering up the director’s house just by the look on his face. Because that would be more prestigious to show his former teacher, instead of the Fargo DreamHouse. Maybe it was bigger and nicer, had a pool and grill, and wasn’t a former interrogation station but S.A.R.A.H. deserved to be a part of the house warming. “And maybe you can bring some old pictures of Nathan from his college days? I’d  _ love _ to see them.”

Nathan glared at him. He mouthed, ‘You bitch.’ at him.

Zoe sat back and watched them with delight. She had watched their fight on EurekaVision ,along with the rest of the cast of the play, and it was a familiar scene. She wondered if she would be eating along tonight but then Nathan came home and took a shower and her Dad arrived ten minutes later bitching about his transmission. She was so happy because she was used to not seeing her Dad for two weeks after a fight like that.

_ “Let me know the time, unless I can look forward to seeing you at church tomorrow?”  _ Henry replied.

It was Jack’s turn to be caught off guard. “Umm...we’ll talk about it?”

“ _ Alright Jack, no pressure. See you tomorrow. _ ” Henry said and then cleared his throat. “ _ Though it would be a shame to keep Nathan’s singing voice to yourself and not share it with the congregation _ .”

Henry hung up and Jack and Zoe looked to Nathan and said, “ _ You sing _ ?”

“Everyone sings.” Nathan shrugged.

“You sing well enough to be requested at the house  _ of God _ ?” Jack asked. 

“What don’t I do well?”

“Communicate for one.” Jack said. “What else are you hiding from me?”

“Sing now.” Zoe said. “Something. Anything. Africa by Toto!”

“No.” Nathan said and spun his wine glass in his hand. “Dammit Henry, and you call _me_ a manipulative bastard?”

“How much singing did you do in college?” Jack asked. “Does MIT have a choir? Musical department? Oh my god, were you  _ in a play _ ?”

_ “Dr. Stark’s singing has been quoted as being ‘spiritual’ and ‘felt in the deepest part of my soul’.” _ S.A.R.A.H. relayed the reviews.

“Well, if those are Fargo’s words I’m pretty sure Nathan’s voice wasn’t what he was wanting to feel in the deepest part of him while he called for God.” Jack snorted.

“Dad!”

“Sorry honey.” Jack said and cringed in his seat as Nathan laughed. “It’s not that I forget you’re in the room, I just forget my mouth has no filter..…”

“So who else is coming to this party you just decided to have?” Nathan asked.

“Nice save.” Zoe shook her head. 

“I want to invite Jo.” Jack said. “I need backup and she needs to return Zoe’s thong magazine so we can use it to start the fire.”

“ _ What about Douglas? _ ” S.A.R.A.H. asked.  _ “I am the house. Am I not allowed to have a guest too? My creator?” _

“This isn’t the kind of party for a plus 1.” Jack said. “I just want to thank everyone who has been there to help me this week and I have yet to see Fargo be helpful.” 

“Putnam helped with your PSA.” Zoe said. “Can I invite him?”

“Are you guys dating?” Jack asked.

“Meh.”

“Meh?” Jack asked. “What does that mean? Are you using him?”

“It’s Tesla, everyone is using each other.” She said. “But thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad.”

"Yeah, why not?” Jack said. “You held up your end of the bargain and invested in school, even if you evaded some of it, so yeah. Let’s be your cool parents.”

"So let's talk about moving this party to the other house.". Nathan said.

"No. Sarah _is_ the house and she deserves to be involved." Jack said.

"Have you looked at our backyard?". Zoe asked. "No offense, S.A.R.A.H."

_ "None taken. It's gotten a little shaggy in the back" _

"She can pretty up when she wants to." Jack said. “We can help.”

"Pretty up poison ivy?" Zoe questioned.

"You realize the 'grill' is the incinerator exhaust, right?". Nathan asked. 

"We'll look in the morning." Jack said. 

"Are you serious about church?" Zoe asked.

"I'm serious about trying to start fresh in a new town with our family and...that seems like a small town thing to do?" Jack said. 

"You  _ do _ have a lot to go to confession for.". Nathan chimed in.

"I  _ will _ hear you sing.". Jack countered, "And watch everyone line up for confession."

"Dad…"

"Zoe. We used to go to church as a family. You told me you wanted to have a family again and it sure as hell won’t hurt to sit in church for an hour and remind ourselves to not break laws. We can try it.". Jack shrugged. 

"Are you just using this as an excuse to observe people?". Zoe asked. “Kinda late to save your felon daughter from drifting from the path of righteousness.”

"No, I genuinely think we could use a reminder that things are different here. " Jack replied. “Myself, included.”

"Or someone needs a reminder to not play God.". Nathan suggested and smiled at Jack. He was not subtle.

"Or be so judgey.". Zoe added and looked at her Dad. “Maybe a reminder to leave judgement to the proper authorities.”

"Henry invited us.". Jack said. “Accepting an invitation isn’t a bad thing.”

"Church. Barbecues.". Zoe said and picked at her salad. "Experimenting with tentacles PSA. Yeah, totally fresh start."

"So everyone has seen it?" Jack asked.

"Your my Dad, Putnum had questions.". Zoe rolled her eyes. “Fun time explaining there was no metaphor, just immature.” 

“So what is this really about, Jack?” Nathan asked. “Are we going to install a white picket fence too?”

“ _ I would love to have something frilly around my perimeter. _ ” S.A.R.A.H chimed in.

“Yeah Dad, really trying to broadcast that power couple role to the town, along with your fetishes.”

“Can you please stop analyzing everything I do for the motives behind them?” Jack asked.

“So, stop being a cop’s daughter?” Zoe asked.

“Yes, I want to start things off right with the people who have come to support us this week and also make it clear that Nathan is back and he’s not back with Allison. He’s with me. And things are different and they need to stop judging him for what he did before and realize he’s my husband now.” Jack said and put his beer down on the table in a show of definitive action.

“ _Your husband_. Who happens to be on _ every _ wall and  _ every _ TV in Eureka.” Zoe added. 

“Yes.” Jack said. “He’s mine and there is a commandment that says you shouldn’t want your neighbor’s husband.”

“A little possessive, huh?” Zoe asked.

“I like it.” Nathan said with a smile.

“You would.” Jack said and shook his head.

“Want to pee on the fence to mark your territory too?” Zoe asked.

“ _ I would refrain from doing so, Sheriff, as the fence is electric _ .”

“The fence is electric!?” Jack asked.

“No, the poison ivy is.” Nathan replied and Jack looked at him, trying to determine if that was sarcasm or not.

“So the ‘covet thy neighbor’s wife’…” Zoe came back around to the motive for going to church which was apparently a reminder that Dr. Stark was now a Carter.

“And  _ goods _ …” Nathan added. “Don’t forget  _ the goods _ .”

“Nobody has.” Jack reminded him. “Speaking of commandments, isn’t there a don’t worship a false God? I think that might be a huge issue around here. I’m not going to see a gold statue of you when we go in there, am I?”

“No.” Nathan shook his head. “I'd definitely look better in bronze. I’m tanned. You however, you’re the golden boy, you'd look good in gold.”

“Probably could use some sun too.” Zoe said. “If we’re talking about tans.”

“Why do I feel like this is circling back around to a conversation about..” Jack said and Zoe continued.

“We live in a hole in the ground?” Zoe said. “I love S.A.R.A.H., but I have to agree with Nathan about using the other house for stuff like...a yard. A pool. A party of more than three.” 

“Water in the shower.” Nathan added.

“You said we’d fix it this weekend, Mr. Water Heater PhD from MIT!”

“Dad, MIT isn’t a fake school from an infomercial. It’s a really prestigious school.”

“I know…” Jack said and then narrowed his eyes at her. “Oh...my God. Are you...looking at colleges?”

“Everyone else picked their colleges and back ups in Kindergarten.” Zoe said. “It’s like Eureka’s equivalent of L.A.’s have you kissed anyone? Are you a virgin?”

“Woah!” Jack waved his hands and took a moment to gather his thoughts as Nathan sipped his wine and watched with curiosity. “Back up. Never mind the teenager talk in LA...though I would really appreciate knowing that…”

“Intact.” She said. “What is not intact is  _ my future _ .”

“Well, you should have thought about that before becoming a juvenile delinquent.” Jack said and raised his beer as she looked at him annoyed. 

“Just because Tesla is ahead of the world, doesn’t mean you’re behind.” Nathan said, trying to be the supportive parent. 

“I’m behind them.” She said. “It’s really weird peer pressure, but I feel like I need to figure out what I want to do, right now. Especially with having to pick my curriculum.”

“What?” Jack asked.

“Tesla curriculum is tailored to the students' chosen objective.” Nathan said. “They’re advanced Jack, they already covered the basics that all the other schools require. All students could graduate high school with the credits they have by 5th grade, high school is about college prep.”

“So what do I want in life?” Zoe said. “I don’t know.”

“You’re 15!”

“You planned to be a major league pitcher at my age and was working on it.” She pointed to Nathan. “He was already at MIT.”

“OK, so how do I help?” Jack asked.

“I need to take the proficiency tests. I need to get my results and make a decision.” Zoe answered.

“You want to let _a test_ choose your life for you?” Jack asked. "You don't even listen to your parents!"

“It’s kinda like getting the answers to the test to learn what you got wrong.” She said with a shrug. “No, I don’t want it to tell me what to do but, they’re super accurate.” 

“And people know this because they  _ do what the test tells them to _ ?” Jack snorted. “Talk about self-fulfilling prophecies.”

“Dad, I need answers not more questions.”

“I’ll get you access to the test.” Nathan said. “Off the record. So you can make your own decisions. Does that appease both of you?”

“Thank you.” Zoe said. 

Jack gave him a look. “You just got played.”

Nathan shrugged. “Wouldn’t hurt for you to take it either, since you're so concerned about it’s evil, manipulative ways.”

“I didn’t say that.” Jack went back to eating dinner. “I have my own test to pass, thanks.”

“I let you convince me to go to Church so that you could make me listen to sermons about the price of playing God and the struggles of scientists today to respect that there is a higher authority than our own ego.” Nathan said. “I don’t think you have room to talk about Zoe getting what she wants.”

“I just wanted to get you and Henry back together.” Jack admitted. Playing right into Nathan’s stupid fucking hands just to stop him from getting on a podium himself. 

“They dated?” Zoe asked and they both looked at her annoyed. 

“He was  _ my teacher _ at MIT.” Nathan narrowed his eyes at her. 

“Doesn’t answer my question.” Zoe said and smirked. 

“She's' worse, because of you.” Jack said to him.

“Sarcasm seems better than identity theft,” Nathan shrugged. “At this rate I’ll be Father of the Year.”

“Just have to have every award there is, don’t you?”

“You won’t believe the statue they’ll give me if I recruit another ten people to go to MIT.” Nathan said and finished off his steak.

“Bronze?” Jack asked.

“Nah, that’s already in the chapel there. They erected it after they heard me sing.” Nathan said and sipped his wine. “I get upgraded to granite, so they can truly capture my chiseled abs and worship me as the perfect specimen.”

“OK.” Jack said and put his fork and knife down to try to act serious, despite Zoe laughing. “For the last time, I am not dragging you to church because I think you’re the embodiment of sin. Can you please just accept that I might need to get my own damned head straight? Maybe stop questioning everyone else and start improving my own damned self?”

“If you would say that.” Nathan replied softly. 

“I’m working on it.” Jack said and picked up his fork to resume eating.

“And we’ll go with you.” Zoe said. 

“Thank you.” Jack said then he thought he heard some...music? “Do you hear that?”

“Organ music?” Nathan sighed. “Really, S.A.R.A.H? We need to work on your comedic timing.”

“Is that…” Zoe held up a finger and then smiled as she realized what it was. “Is that  _ Africa by Toto _ ?”

“It is.” Jack said and threw down his napkin. He was excited, he loved when he and Zoe used to sing to the radio when stuck in L.A. traffic. “Come on Nathan, _ bless the rains _ .” 

“No.” Nathan said and leaned his head back to shout at the ceiling, “S.A.R.A.H!”

“ _ I hear the drums echoing tonight… _ ” Zoe sang softly.

Nathan got up and took his dirty plate to the kitchen while his family sang and amused themselves at the dinner table. Jack and Zoe were laughing, singing along to their H.O.U.S.E.’s attempt to adapt the 80's song to organ music. He looked over his shoulder as they got into it, Zoe a hell of a singer and Jack enjoying one of the good times of being a parent that he probably missed out on. He smiled at them, they were getting louder as they got closer to the chorus and he knew they were going to be looking to him to sing. He put the dish down, not wanting to disappoint his family, and glad he could be a part of this.

“ _ He turned to me as if to say, _ ”  Jack and Zoe stood up and turned as they sang loudly and together,  _ "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you"! _

Nathan turned around and they were so damn excited they started jumping in place. S.A.R.A.H. turned on the spot lights for him, and he belted out, “ _ It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you!" _

Jack and Zoe screamed. Holy shit he  _ was _ amazing!. S.A.R.A.H. switched to a different background music for him and he wasn’t even pissed because his husband was an absolutely dramatic ass who was standing there like a rock star singing this ridiculous song with them and he was  _ into it _ !

“ _ There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do _ !” Nathan looked at them and the genuine smiles. “ _ I bless the rains down in Africa. _ ” 

“ _ I bless the rains down in Africa! _ ” The Carter’s echoed, taking joy in the background role even though it wasn’t at  _ that _ part of the song.

“ _ Gonna take some time to do the things we never had. _ ” They sang together, lights blinking like this was a real concert not just some random shenanigans in their living room. S.A.R.A.H had the sounds system to make it feel like it was and she was going to use it. 

“ _ Ooh, Ooh _ ” Jack and Zoe sang together as Nathan stopped and watched them finish off the chorus. Yeah, this was an amazing family and suddenly it struck him that he really wanted to have kids with Jack. 


	45. Bless the Rains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've past 100,000 words and have been going for 45 consecutive days! Achievement unlocked: reward smut. 
> 
> I'm going to add a warning tag to this for what I can best describe as "Non-con complimenting."

  
  
  


_ Dissolved _

Chapter 45

**Bless the Rains**

"Thanks for tonight. Thanks for sticking with me, even though today was rough." Jack said after entering the bedroom after his shower. He was coming to be smiling and, had you asked him earlier today, he would have said that was impossible. Hours later, however, he could see that maybe they were arguing similar points and 'working together' really was going to mean less flying solo and more collaboration.

"Thanks for making me part of your family.". Nathan said and put down his tablet so he could give Jack his undivided attention. "Dinner was amazing. I have no idea that we could go from where we were this afternoon to that. From falling apart to falling more in love with you."

  
  


"Yeah. I'm told fighting is a part of healthy marriages but that has not been my experience." Jack said and had to agree he was more in love with him than before. 

"Mine either."

"Tonight...well, it really felt like the comforts of home, when I opened the door. It put everything in perspective, coming home to you despite what happened." 

"Pretty sure that was the plan.". Nathan said. "S.A.R.A.H. made my favorite dinner. Your kid asked for help with calculus homework after I showered. The house smelled like apple pie when you got home. Felt like home, put us at ease. It was a manufactured environment meant to welcome us home to our sanctuary. She's got the programming, but I also think she has help."

"So the kid and the house are accomplices?" Jack shook his head. "Pulling some real estate magic too with the smell of a home cooked dessert when I come in the door and a perfect family image at the dinner table. S.A.R.A.H. , S.A.R.A.H., well played."

"She's designed to resolve conflict, make her family happy."

Jack thought about it. "So if the sentient house turn into a realtor, is that...like being a pimp?

"Only if she rents them out." Nathan mused as Jack walked over to bed.

"Oh, so it's slavery." Jack gasped. " Good thing GD provides the housing around here for free or I night have to put her under house arrest."

"Get in bed before I kick you out of here for shit like that."

"Why do we complicate things?". Jack asked as he crawled into bed and right into his arms. "It's so easy to fall into a rhythm and banter over dinner. It's so easy to fall back into your arms and I ask myself how I could want this to end."

"We come into this with a lot of baggage.". Nathan said. "A lot we never talked about because we fell for each other so fast. Now it's catching up to us."

“I can’t believe you never sang for me.” Jack said as he looked up at him. “That’s pure evil, cruelty really, to hold that back from your husband!”

“I wasn’t expecting that to be your weakness.” Nathan said with a smug smile as Jack kissed his neck, apparently appreciating his vocal cords. “I’ll remember that next time I want to shut you up.”

“Oh, someone has come up with a counterattack for me kissing him to stop his mouth from moving?” Jack grinned and kissed him again. 

“Mmmm. Hmmm.” Nathan hummed and Jack got the reverberations through his lips, and liked it if the groping of his pecs was any indicator of that. “Are we going to fuck away our problems for another day, again?”

“You going to sing and make it worth my while  _ to not  _ utilize that unhealthy coping mechanism?”

“That’s the worst blackmail I have _ever heard_.”

“Worse than ‘you give me your sperm and I’ll take your insurance’?”

“Complimentary, at best.”

“We’re pretty complimentary.” Jack said, and let his hands run lower and over Nathan’s abs. “I love these.”

Nathan grinned and flipped Jack over. Jack was always complimenting him and he didn’t get nearly enough of his own. He kissed his lips. “I love these, even if I’m the reason a lot of angry words form on them.”

Jack settled in beneath Nathan as he kissed his cheek. 

“And I love your smile. So honest. So natural. You never hold back, it lights up your face. It lights up everything.”

Jack’s breath caught in his throat as Nathan kissed his way up to his temple, beard scratching his face in the best way. He closed his eyes, letting Nathan kiss each eyelid and then opened them up to see him hovering over him.

He placed his forehead on his and stared into his eyes. “These eyes are so beautiful, so honest...see so much. You’re the warmth and yet you look on me like I’m the center of the universe when it’s you. You’re the good, you're the truth. You’re everything I have been looking for in my life. The key to knowledge, and love, the key to happiness. You pulled me out of the dark and I never tell you how much I love every part of you. I let you tell me, every day, and never tell you how much I appreciate you.”

“I…”

Nathan kissed him to keep him quiet. He reached behind him and threw his pillow on the floor, then took his hands and put them above his head and pinned them there. “So now I have to teach you how to be selfish and not selfless. We compliment each other, like you said, and we both meant a different definition of the word. Same word, different meaning. We see things so differently but I wish you could see yourself through my eyes.”

“You don’t have to tell me…”

“Yeah, apparently I do. Because you don’t want to hear it. Because you don’t think you deserve it.” Nathan said. “Well, there is where the complimentary comes in, because you see my sin as pride and I see your problem as humility.”

“Is this about church...or that black and white morality thing…”

“It’s about you.” Nathan said and kissed his lips, then kissed his jaw. “Clenching your jaw when you’re angry at me for something we actually agree on.”

Jack felt beard hair drag against his cheek again as Nathan moved to whisper in his ear. 

“It’s about you hearing what you want to hear to back up your hypothesis that we’re on opposite sides of things.” Nathan flickered his tongue over Jack’s ear lobe. That got a puff of hot breath against his face. “When you should be listening to what is behind my words, like you do for everyone else.”

Jack swallowed hard and Nathan sucked on his earlobe for a second, not giving him time to react to what he said.

Nathan pulled back, drawing the earlobe out of his mouth as he went. He looked Jack in the eyes again. “This is about you spending some serious time, pinned under me, listening to me appreciate every incredible inch of you. Because you don’t value yourself as much as I value you and that has to change.”

“That's not…”

“You have no self-worth.” Nathan said. “You….get so mad at me for putting lives in jeopardy because you genuinely believe your life is worth less. That stops, now.”

“Nathan…”

“As do your protests or I’m going to tie you down to this bed and gag you.”

“I’m...not sure this is how this game is supposed to be played.”

“Well, apparently torture for you is hearing how amazing you are and why you should be shining example for the human race, not me.”

“OK…” Jack laughed. “So if this is a way to tell me you want to play with handcuffs…”

“It’s not.” Nathan said. 

“That’s good, because I left them on my other utility belt and it’s super gross and in the bathtub at work.” 

“Jack, this is not a joke.” Nathan said sternly. “You really made me think about this when you talked about church. Sins, virtues. Spending the next hour worshiping you.”

“Oh my God, _that_ was your takeaway?”

“There is no such thing as spontaneous human-combustion.” Nathan said before Jack could suggest it. “We’re not going to burst into flames when we go to church tomorrow.”

“Pretty sure God makes those calls about what is possible and what’s not.” 

“Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate.” Nathan repeated the principle of Occam’s Razor for him and bounced a little to push him back into the bed as Jack tried to wiggle free of his grasp. “ I guess you did come up with your own version of that today. Better watch out, or I might burst into flames for being nice to you because I’m the devil and I run the place that released all the evils out of hell.”

“I’m not that good.” Jack said. “That’s why I feel like…”

Nathan kissed him again. “I need you to shut up and listen. Do I need to use sexy scientist voice as I tell you the name of every muscle in your body, in latin?”

“Don’t they use cadavers for that?

“You’re going to be dead in a minute if you keep ruining this.” Nathan bit his lip. “I’m going to make you feel good about yourself, while making your body feel good. I’m not torturing you,  _ yet _ .”

“Well, I’m uncomfortable, nonetheless.”

“Why?” Nathan demanded. He leaned over Jack's face again, tightening his grip on his wrists and blowing hot breath over him, grinding his body against his. “It’s not because of me pinning you down. You like that. You like me being aggressive and putting you in positions I want, when I want and how I want it. You _love that_. So why, does this make you uncomfortable? Because we’re talking? Talking about you and what you perceive as your faults? Easy to point the finger to mine, isn't it? Ever occur to you that I never saw them as faults but virtues?””

“Nathan.”

“Jack.” 

He wasn’t sure what he was feeling right now, Nathan was sending out conflicting signals and his body was reacting to it accordingly. He was afraid yet aroused, he just wasn’t afraid of what was physically happening….no. Nathan was right, he liked when he got aggressive, felt like that was an indicator of how far he had come with his control issues...but right now he was struggling to relax under him. Feeling threatened...why?

“I’ll stop if you ask.” Nathan said, feeling Jack’s heart rate getting way too fast for arousal. 

“No.” Jack said. “It’s hard to listen. I don’t know why..”

Nathan let go of his wrists and slid down his body, giving Jack plenty of room and opportunity to get away or flip him over and kick his ass if he wanted. “You don’t think you deserve it and you do.”

“I really like the other way you normally say that.” Jack said and rubbed his face with his hands. “When you’re ready to bury yourself in my ass instead of my head.”

“You don’t need to like what I’m telling you, you need to like what I’m doing to you.” Nathan bent down and kissed his neck, suckling gently on the soft flesh of his neck where he could feel his pulse. Feel Jack calming down through his heart rate. He ran his freed up hands over Jack’s torso. “If you don’t want to hear it, focus on me touching you and let it fade to the background.”

“This isn’t some weird positive reinforcement thing, is it?”

“It me, needing to tell you what you mean to me because I almost lost you today. It’s me trying to chase away this part of you that I hate.” Nathan kissed his collar bone and ran his hand to a scar on his chest without looking. “To kiss away the scars on your fucking soul that make you think you deserved this…”

Jack gasped as Nathan slid down and licked and kissed an old scar from a knife wound, back when he was a rookie with LAPD. 

“Or this.” Nathan moved to the scar from a bullet wound, a souvenir from his Marshall job. Thankfully not from his case. Then he rolled him over and kissed the surgical scar on his shoulder and spent the most time on it. “ _ Or this _ .”

That one, that one Nathan knew wasn’t from the line of duty. That one was to repair his shoulder after the accident. The accident that killed Angela Fairfield and ended his baseball career. 

“You can’t blame yourself for everything.” Nathan said and kissed his shoulder blade before letting Jack roll back in place. “I love that you try to carry the weight of it all, that you’re so strong you can. I let everything weigh on me so I can fix it, so I can prove I am better than everyone. So I can do what nobody else can. You shoulder it all so you can punish yourself for what you didn’t accomplish. Fuck that. It’s holding you down, thinking you were able to do the impossible and save someone from someone else’s mistake. Now I’m holding you down, telling you you can’t save everyone but I want you to keep trying to save me.”

“It was my job…”

Nathan ran his thumb over the knife wound. “To stop a pimp from cutting his girl's throat?”

Jack felt his thumb roll over his bullet wound. 

“Protect this witness despite them violating established protocols?”

Jack flinched as Nathan put both hands on his shoulders and pushed him deeper into the bed. 

“Or these shoulders you think deserve to hold the weight of the world because of a mistake. You were  _ just a kid _ who made a mistake. A mistake you dedicated your life to fixing, by saving other people from their own decisions” Nathan said. “You paid the price and lost your dream, the career you worked for. Yet you still chose law enforcement as penance for your sins. Who else would come back from that? Lost scholarship? Choosing to go to the police academy to pay for school. Graduating with your criminal justice degree even though you had a job you loved, but wanted to be a US Marshall? Yeah, you, Jack Carter. And anyone who has ever met you wants the world for you. They admire you. They bask in the light and hope of your outlook and humor. They thrive under your protection. I...want more of you than that. I want the part you don't think deserves love because you want to keep punishing yourself. Give that to me.”

Jack opened his mouth and Nathan immediately bent down to silence him. 

“And that dark side you’re so worried about coming out. The fact that you’re so good at your job you worry you might go overboard because Eureka isn’t anywhere close to the hell you’ve seen in LA, or across America? The terrible things people have done or are capable of, that makes you doubt me? The things’ you’re capable of doing to protect that innocence?” Nathan rested his forehead on his again and looked him in the eyes. “You should be proud of that too. Not because of some sinister joy you get from having to shoot someone, but because you have the strength to do that to save a complete stranger.”

Jack stared into those eyes above him.

“You did that for me. You became that man to protect me. And you're scared of having to do it here where the people you love can see that.” Nathan said. “So my question to you is, do you think I don’t value what you did for me? That I take the decisions I make lightly because I’ve already seen what you can do?”

“No.”

“I do.” Nathan admitted. 

“You’re not...a bad guy. Even though I sort of accused you be being one today. Nathan...”

“I justify the cost of lost lives as the price that needs to be paid for science. How is that different than being the head of some horribly evil organization that writes off just another witness or worker as the cost of doing business?” Nathan asked. “I never want to see you rush in to save my ass again.”

“I wasn’t..”

“It was my decision.” Nathan kissed him. He knew he was getting through to him because Jack was struggling to complete sentences for a comeback. “You want to save me from myself, save me from that weight you carry. The weight of lost lives. I already have lives I haven’t been able to save here. I am terrified of losing your life and our life.”

Jack laid there and digested things for a few minutes and Nathan ended up getting off him and rolling over on his back. 

“Ok, that wasn’t what I was going for.” Nathan said and closed his eyes. “Dammit, I really wanted to have you writhing under me as I found ways to tell you how much I love you and instead…”

“We talked.” Jack said. “You’re better with words and I’m better with action.”

“I didn’t even get to the fun parts.”

“It’s not sexy to speak Latin to my penis.”

“I bet it would be.” Nathan said. They laid there a few minutes while their heart rates settled down and they tried to figure out where to go next? Sulk in truth, or fuck away the guilt. He took a page from Jack's book and lightened the mood. “Did you know that testicle came from the Latin  _ testis _ , which means a person giving testimony?”

Jack sat up and looked at him. “ _ For real _ or are you just referencing the fact that I came so fast after your testimony at the trial in that bathroom?”

“No. For real.” Nathan said. “Ask Henry.”

“No!”

“Fine. You’ll never find out if we were truly fated to be together because of how we met. If some ancient Oracle looked at a pair of testicles and prophesied, ‘In the future there will be these two men who are the embodiment of dualism, a pair isolated in a protected area, dangling together as they weigh themselves down with the power to create life and better the world while also spilling over with primal needs. A shining example that opposite forces can be complimentary, and they’ll find truth whenever they're naked together and exposed. First they must come together as a pair. The blond needs a reason to get horny because of science...it shall be called the US justice system, and the two nuts in this sack will be a testimony to that for eternity’.”

“ _ What the fuck? _ ” Jack started laughing. He might be good at improv but Nathan was far better at the bullshit. He could say so much with a straight face and make it sound scientific. 

“Oracle of Eureka.” Nathan with a smile . “There’s a statue in City Hall. Marble, but has some soft edges from being rubbed a lot as is the case with all the great sculptures with balls.”

“Bullshit!” Jack managed to say as he laughed harder.

“Look it up. Art, people love to touch it.” Nathan said and illustrated his point by running his hand over his own abs.

“I’m talking about the testicle testimony! I will ask Henry…”

“No you won’t.”

“At the barbecue.” Jack said. “I’ll ask if this is what you learned at MIT because it sure as hell wasn’t in any of my classes at UCLA and I actually majored in justice.”

“You majored  _ in justice _ ?”

“Yes. If you can have a doctorate in water heaters, I can have a bachelors in justice in _its entirety_.”

"Well justice is blind and that would explain why you don't read anything." Nathan bit his lip. “Well, I might just have it in me to tie you up and torture you with praise for the next ten hours so you’ll wish we had water in the shower to wash off your sweaty mess of a body when I’m done.”

Jack rolled over on top of him. “You know, I think I’ve had enough praise for one night and might want to praise God a little for your perfect body? I mean he did make something special, anyone will testify to that. Can I get an Amen?”

“This is why people go to hell.”

“You’d be the expert on that.”

Nathan flipped him over and smiled. “Get me a couple of my ties, I’ll see how much testimony you can hold…”

Jack laughed as Nathan reached down and fondled his balls. “What in the hell is wrong with us?”

“I just spent the last half an hour telling you what your problems are! Are you deaf!?”

“You told me to let your voice fade to the background while you touch me!”

“That was not what I said!”

“That is _exactly_ what you said.” Jack looked up at the ceiling. “Goddammit. I almost called S.A.R.A.H. to replay the surveillance feed.”

“Let’s not go down that road.” 

“Shut that EurekaVision channel down with a bang!” Jack snorted.

“Oh, want to fuck in my office?”

“Yes!” 

“Now?”

“No.”

Nathan bent over and sucked his nipple. “What about yours?”

“Handcuffs?”

“No.”

"But... _justice_.” Jack pouted. 

"I brought home some new lube if you want to try something different?" Nathan offered instead of Jack's fixation on those damned handcuffs.

"As in...experimental?"

"Old formula, new sensation. It's customizable so you can change the lube for what you want instead of buying many. Pocket sized so you always have it on you."

"It's safe?"

"Same formula we used our first time?" Nathan said. 

"Oh? The slightly numbing my asshole sensation? Yeah way past that. Especially after you told me it was a topical epidural." Jack recalled that first time and he was pretty happy he had that. Sitting in court all day after that would have been rough.

"It has new features." Nathan said. “Doesn’t come in a bottle I can break.”

"OK. Apparently being a guinea pig is in my contract."

"It is." Nathan said and didn't ask if that meant he read it. "Please...read that?"

"Please stop making my testicles ache with their testimony to your sex appeal?"

"Be right back."

Jack watched him get pants on and leave, closing the door behind him. He looked around for something he could try to be exciting and different like the lube. He considered just wearing his leather jacket….but then he remembered what was wrapped in his jacket! The tentacle!

That would make Nathan laugh and he really wanted him to laugh after today. So he got up, got naked, got the tentacle and returned. Then he laid himself on the bed and tried his best to figure out the sexiest pose. Then, once satisfied, he grabbed the tentacle arm and tried to lay it over his hip and cover himself up with it. He was surprised the suction cups had some grab to them, but it worked out because he didn’t have to worry about the plush purple arm falling off. Then he turned off the light and waited for Nathan to come to bed.

Nathan returned, opened the door and was surprised to see the light off. Jack never got turned off that fast, so _something_ was up. If it was those handcuffs, he was getting handcuffed to the fucking bed himself. He turned on the light. He wasn’t expecting Jack to be laying in bed naked, with a tentacle arm on his dick. “What the…”

“PSA isn't strong enough, gotta get hands on with you!” Jack said with a smile and pet the plush tentacle. “Keep _this_ in mind and think about safety.”

“Oh God, Jack.” Nathan said and inched closer. “Tell me that thing is not actually _on your skin_.”

Jack huffed and sat up, the tentacle stayed with him. “Really? At no point in the last week of us joking about this did you want to tell me you have a squick about tentacles?”

“No.” Nathan took a deep breath. “I am more concerned with the suction cups.”

Jack rolled his eyes and went to pull the tentacle off, only to find that those cups did have a lot of hold. 

Nathan hurried over and grabbed his hand to stop him from tugging. “Did you even read the instructions for this costume?”

“The Alpha, Omega...stick slot into hole...yeah.” Jack said.

“The part with the _huge caution symbol_ where it said the suction cups should not touch human skin?” Nathan asked and Jack looked at him and that look said he most definitely didn't. “Why don’t you  _ read things _ !? What is  _ wrong with you _ !”

“Why does the play costume have dangerous suction cups on it?”

“Because it wasn’t intended to be _anywhere near your penis_!”

“So it doesn’t come off?” Jack asked and Nathan grabbed his hand tighter.

“Each tug will suction it harder. Just give me a second to find out what the solution for release is.”

“I hate this town.”

"I can use the lube". Nathan said and grabbed the card he brought up. "I can program it so it will be a thinner viscosity. It will get between your skin and the cup and give it nothing to grab onto. "

"Not exactly how I thought this would go.."

"A lot of that going around tonight "

Jack watched Nathan get on the bed and carefully apply the lube and looks so seriously scientific about it despite the ridiculous circumstances: which was a purple plush tentacle suctioned to his genitalia. "Thanks for saving my penis, Dr.Stark."

"I'll kiss it and make it better once we get these off."

"Hope I can still get off without pain from suction cup suction spots pockmarking my dick. Unless that's the torture you were alluding to earlier."

"No. I would have never predicted this happening."

"Keep you entertained, at least."

"I do have fun with you."

"This isn't fun."

"Today hasn't been great all together but it's had some amazing moments."

"Almost losing you to abduction, almost dying, stopping an alien autopsy, a huge argument that I'm still not sure how to categorize, singing Africa in our living room, having you hold me down and give me some weird BDSM form of complimenting and now there is a tentacle stuck to my dick. Yeah...we are a power couple alright."

"I missed you last night."

"I missed you too."

"It's off.". Nathan said and held up the purple tentacle. 

"You're amazing, Doctor."

"Yeah, well, I haven't even started with the therapy yet."

Jack looked down and saw there was only minimal evidence that he had suction cups there. It didn't feel too bad either since Nathan was gently massaging him to make sure there wasn't much damage. "Can't wait to spend the rest of your life with me, huh?"

"Actually, I'm pretty content taking it one day at a time.". Nathan said. "I don't want to miss a single moment. You pack a lifetime into every day and I'm loving being a part of it."

“You going to massage my dick when we’re in the old folks home?”

“If you promise to stay alive long enough for Zoe to lock us away in the old folks home.” Nathan said. “You are so worried about what I’ll do for science, you should be worried what I’ll do to get you back if you die. I’ll be a horrible widower, I’ll bring you back from the dead. Universe be damned.”

“Ew.”

“Not necrophilia. Probably time travel. Worse.”

“How is that worse?”

“Eh...some other time. That discussion will take all night.”

“Zoe won’t subject other people to us. She’ll lock us away in a cabin in the woods where we can argue about everything all day.” He said. “Maybe she’ll be Sheriff.”

“That’s not even an option on the proficiency tests.”

“Of course not, that’s why you had to outsource.”

“Yup. Maybe Cobb let a wormhole eat him rather than admit he got his dick stuck in something.”

“Ew.” Jack said and looked down at him as he rested his head in the crook of his pelvis and rubbed his dick. “Are you saying this to stop me from getting aroused? ”

“Maybe. Going to hurt more if you get hard.” Nathan said. “And you  _ really _ get turned on by my voice.”

“Or the fact that you’re playing with my cock.” Jack reached down and pet his head. "And your head is on my hip while doing it."

“Not playing, massaging away the suction cup marks so you don’t end up looking like swiss cheese.” Nathan said. “I’m a doctor.”

“Not that kind.”

“I’m actually a certified expert on your body, I’ve even shown you some things you didn’t know about yourself.”

“Like my balls are filled with testimonials of how hot you are?”

“Yes.”

“And yours are filled with the currency of Eureka?”

“Yes.”

“I can see why we would be top tier entertainment, honestly.”

“Can you maybe see why rushing to do the first thing to come to your head might not be the best decision?” Nathan asked and held out his hand to illustrate he was talking about the tentacle-on-penis incident of ten minutes ago. He rubbed over the tip of Jack’s cock. “Thank god you didn’t attach this thing to your head.”

“Can you tell me again why I shouldn’t be concerned with you having a customizable computer generated lube...credit card in your wallet?” Jack asked and held up the tiny computer card that somehow spit out enough lube for this.

“It’s for you.”

“Wow. Really counting on that office sex thing.”

“Actually, it’s programmable so you can use it for a lot of things. It want to keep you safe.”

“I have gun lube.” Jack said. “It’s hydrophobic.”

“Look at you with the science terms.”

“I understand things. Especially as they apply to my line of work.” Jack said and tossed the credit card thing back on the bed. “I like hearing about science from you, though. I’d like you to share more of it so I’m not just ordered to keep things quiet while you beam crazy into people’s brains and turn this into an X-files episode. I know, you’re going to say it's need to know and I ..”

“Need to know.” Nathan said and finished massaging out the raised section of skin and wiped his hand on the bed before crawling back up on the bed and laying down next to Jack. He ran his finger over his chest, tracing the scars, and muscles and circling around his nipples before placing his hand over his heart. Jack smiled at him, seemed to think he knew what was coming. “I..have something in section 5.”

“Oh God, I am _definitely not_ letting that near my dick.”

Nathan smiled. “It’s...radioactive so I would hope not.”

“Good things my hot husband is on a poster on  _ every  _ wall advertising the need to keep radiation away from your cock.” Jack said and rolled his eyes. “Every wall but mine.”

“I believe you made it a day without anyone getting injured or killed. I won't count me run in with Taggart's tranquilizer gun against you since I didn't receive medical attention for it.” Nathan said, “One day closer to your reward.”

“So the radioactive thing in the basement at GD?” Jack asked. “Is that what you gave the Congressman?”

“How did you know?”

“I saw your body language when you were talking to him at GD. He was asking for something you didn’t want to give him.” Jack said and reached out and ran his hand through Nathan’s hair. “I figured that’s what you had to give up to keep him in Eureka long enough to get your budget approved.”

“Long enough to get abducted.” Nathan sighed. “Yeah, that's what I showed him.”

“It’s important?”

“It’s….everything.” Nathan said and put his head on Jack’s chest and pulled him close. “It’s incredible.”

“And super dangerous?”

“Yeah.” Nathan said. “We call it the Artifact. Its energy is off the charts. Everything we have learned from it so far has changed the way we think about everything.”

“Is that why you were seducing me with talk about how I light up everything?”

“Yeah, it reminds me of you.” Nathan hated how dumb that sounded but Jack kept running his fingers through his hair. “The power and possibility, the ability to redefine everything we took for granted. It’s something I feel drawn to, like I could lose myself in obsession to my work again, but the draw to you is much stronger. It’s like it’s down in that lab offering so much just to lure us in, and you’re fighting me so hard to let you in. I'm not making sense.”

“You are.” Jack said. “You talk the science talk, but when you find something you’re amazed by you get all whimsical. I love that you’re sharing this with me.”

“Why because it’s probably going to blow up?”

“Probably.” Jack said and laughed. “No, it’s...our town. Our job. I...am really...it means a lot that you’d share this.”

“I’m scared of it and entranced by it at the same time.” Nathan said. “I think it’s Truth. In every sense of the word.”

“Like God?”

“Maybe.” Nathan said. “I can’t wait to learn more about it. My team is small, It’s super confidential, but...I really need _you_ to know about it.”

“So you don’t lose yourself to it?”

“Yeah.” Nathan said and ran his hand over Jack's arm. “I also have to submit to Beverly’s psychological analysis more frequently now and I’m going to need some help dealing with that.”

“If we’re being honest right now…” Jack took a deep breath. “I don’t trust her.”

“Is it because you don’t trust her occupation?”

“No, it’s just a gut instinct.” Jack said. “No evidence.”

“I’m inclined to trust that as if it were evidence.”

“I..shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t want to bias you…”

“No. I want to know. I have a lot to protect and nobody can withstand the scrutiny of both of us.”

“She’s probably…”

“I’ll take it with a grain of salt and not pass judgement.” Nathan assured him and picked his head up and kissed him. “I promise.”

“Go Team Stark, huh?”

“More like Team Carter.”

“Oh, _that_ made me hard.”

“Will you let me finish telling you how much I love every inch of you? Maybe even let a little of it sink in?”

“I’m actually a little more anxious about making sure my dick works?” Jack said. “So, mind rolling over and allowing me to inspect that spot on your neck where that Tranquilizer dart nailed you...while I nail that spot you like on your prostate?”

“OK, I’ll let you sink into me instead.” Nathan said and Jack giggled and kissed him, playful again despite almost ripping his own dick off with a toy. Yeah, life was pretty amazing with him. “I’ll pin you down and make you take it later.”

“Yeah, damn right I will.”


	46. Sunday Best

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 46

**Sunday Best**

* * *

  
  


“Is Nathan not coming to church with us?” Zoe asked as she took a sip of her Dad’s coffee when he wasn’t looking. 

“He’s not exactly a morning person.” Jack said and didn’t want to share his attempts this morning to get him out of bed on his day off. 

“Funny, for someone who has to be early to everything in order to be ‘on time’.” Zoe said and took another drink.

“Yeah.” Jack said and took his coffee back. “Funny because he’d rather not sleep than sleep and have to wake up early.”

“I’m up.” Nathan announced.

They looked at the stairs as Nathan trudged down them on his way to the shower. Jack smiled and raised his coffee in a mock salute. “And there’s the sun my world revolves around, right now.”

“I like to sleep in on my day off.” Nathan reiterated and didn’t look at them. One day. He wanted one day to enjoy being in bed and especially being in bed with Jack. 

“You mentioned that when you tried to slap me in the face with a pillow and knocked me out of bed.” Jack reminded him and drank his coffee, or what was left of it. 

“You were slapping my ass like I was some workhorse who refused to get out of the barn.” Nathan stopped and engaged with them. Possibly a mistake considering how groggy he was.

“You’re more like a fancy carriage horse.” Jack said and walked up, kissed his cheek and handed him his coffee. “My prancy, pretty steed.”

“This house is poorly designed. Who the fuck doesn’t put a bathroom in the Master bedroom?” Nathan rubbed his eyes.

“Fargo?” Jack said. “And also, I believe this was supposed to be the torture house?”

“That would do it.” Nathan said, took his coffee and shuffled to the bathroom for his shower. “We need to talk about this house.”

“We need to talk about the backyard.” Zoe said as Nathan disappeared into the bathroom. “Or why your husband is so ripped.”

“I don’t know where he finds the time for that.” Jack said. “Unless bench pressing his workload is enough to keep him that fit.”

“Wouldn’t hurt for you to do _ those workouts _ with him..” Zoe said.

“Hey!”

“Just sayn', your breakfast menu is a direct result of how you treat your body. You want more than oatmeal, you better start working out.” She said.

“Speaking of working out, let’s look at how bad the yard is.” Jack said and they went upstairs and outside into the morning light of peaceful Oregon. That idyllic view was….probably best seen from the end of the road and not their doorstep. The bunker did not have curb appeal. “So maybe we can put out some Tiki torches.”

“ _ In _ the poison ivy?” She asked.

“That’s not _all_ poison ivy. That's more menacing.” Jack said and frowned. “So maybe there isn’t much we can do about the chain link fence. I can, however, appreciate the irony that you want to live in a house surrounded by security fence. Like a prison.”

“Haha.” She said flatly. “Never too early to make jokes about juvenile delinquents. Especially on a Sunday, Dad.”

“I’m trying to get around to the compliment.” Jack said with a grin. “You fulfilled your part of the bargain this week and invested in school. And maybe coming here really was what Nathan and I needed to figure things out.”

“Oh.”

“However…”

“Oh here it comes.”

“I need you to stop conspiring with S.A.R.A.H. to push us together.” Jack said. “I know she’s pretty invested in making our family happy but I don’t need you to worry so much about us. We’re working things out and it’s going to be rough and I hate that you probably saw us fight…”

“Dad, the whole town saw it. It’s gone into syndication already.” 

“It’s been five days.” Jack said. 

“Five days of some of the best TV Eureka has ever seen.” She said with a shrug. 

“I don’t care about them, I care about you.” Jack said. “I care that you saw enough of your Mom and I fighting for a lifetime.”

“It’s different now.” She said. “You both came home last night.”

“We did.” Jack said and realized how grown up his daughter was already and how much she had to grow up because of her parents ruining her childhood. He missed out on so much with her and never realized how much until it was too late. “And will continue to keep coming home to work on things.”

“OK. That’s all S.A.R.A.H. and I want.” Zoe said and turned around to see Nathan sprinting up the stairs. He bounced from grumpy to gung-ho fast. 

“So let’s look at the backyard.” Nathan said and pulled Jack by the shirt over to the ‘yard’ they were speaking of. “So we can decide against using it and still have time to go over to the other house and get you a different dress shirt.”

“I don’t need you to dress me.” Jack said and Nathan turned and gave him a condescending pat on the cheek. “This shirt was good enough for me to go to work in! I wore it at the trial! I wore it when we got married!”

“And I bought you shirts.”

“And I have my own shirts…”

“In the garage,.” Nathan reminded him. “Still packed. Probably won’t find them in time. Probably will be wrinkled beyond salvation.”

“It’s  _ church _ .” Jack said. “People shouldn’t judge my clothes and you should be one of those people.”

“Love you.” Nathan said and kissed his forehead. “Love our chats. Love you to make a decision so we can get on the road before we’re late.”

“Not being early, is  _ not late _ .”

“We’re going to be on time if we have to stop to get you presentable.” Nathan said and spun him around to look at the back yard. “And there is nothing we can do to make _ that _ presentable in time for this afternoon.”

“So it needs a _ little  _ work.” Jack said as he looked at the ‘backyard’ of the bunker.

“It needs Napalm.” Nathan said and pulled out his phone. “Which I can have delivered while we’re at church.”

“Stop.” Jack said and pushed his hand down and walked over to the concrete fire pit thing. “Is this the grill?”

Zoe raised her eyebrows as fire from the incinerator belched out of the hole. “More like a portal to hell.”

Jack leapt away and stepped on something crunchy. Probably some left over World War Two garbage left by the army. He hoped. “OK, so maybe it’s a bigger project than I realized.”

“Can we just use the directors house? We should go through our things anyway and take some stuff home so we don’t have to travel across town every time you have to wear something that is not a uniform.” Nathan asked as Jack kicked at something that probably should not be disturbed. He grabbed him and pulled him out of the ‘yard’. “I can call in a clean up crew and…”

“No, we can do our own housework.” Jack said.

“Since when?” Zoe asked. “When was the last time you mowed the lawn? You haven’t been home in years.”

“I'm trying to fix that.” Jack said. 

“Can we please use Nathan’s house?” Zoe asked. “Unless you want to skip church?”

“Fine.” Jack said. “You win, which means you also win the opportunity to tell S.A.R.A.H she's uninvited from her own house party.”

“We already talked about it in the shower.” Nathan said.

“While you were naked?” Jack said. “Real subtle.”

“I sang.” Nathan grinned. “Bless the rains...oh wish there was water for that. Water to cascade down my body and steam to help me open up my vocal cords. She caved pretty fast.”

“You talked about her inadequacies as you serenaded her?” Jack asked. “If you weren’t so mean to everyone you’d be way better at compliments. You see that, right?”

“Jack.” Nathan grabbed him by the face and smooshed his cheeks so he couldn’t talk. “Get in the car and let’s go before we are late.”


	47. Godspeed

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 46

**Godspeed**

* * *

“What are you doing?” Jack asked as he stepped onto the sidewalk outside of church and Nathan immediately started running his hands over his shirt and collar. Zoe kept walking, clearly worried they were going to embarrass her or trying to get away before they were struck by lightning for getting physical outside of a church. 

“Fixing your shirt.” Nathan said.

“A little ruffled, is it? Maybe from you _speeding_ the entire way to the house and then to church?” Jack asked. "That's not what Godspeed means."

"Nope. It means good wishes for a journey, a journey we are trying to start with a good impression in this new town. So let me fix your shirt. If you get to broadcast I'm your husband, I get to make sure you look like it."

"A little cranky this morning?". Jack said as Nathan's fingers ran over his buttons. "Perhaps a pain in _the ass_ or a pain in the neck?"

"Neck. Damned dart. Damned lack of hot water to work that out." Nathan let loose a huff of annoyance as Jack was incapable of not moving while he talked and that made buttoning things difficult.

“Did I buttoned it wrong?” Jack asked as Nathan buttoned his shirt and backed away.

“No. Forgot one.”

“It's casual.” Jack defended his decision to leave a few buttons open. 

“It's _cleavage_.”

“It is not! ” Jack growled. “Are you making a joke about my weight because I am _exactly_ average weight for my size."

“It's about showing off too much chest not boob.”

“Don't want me showing off my goods? Goody proctor?” Jack scoffed and Nathan turned and started to walk to the building. 

“No. Not at church.” Nathan said and turned to see why Jack wasn't following him. He rolled his eyes. “It's just _one_ button.”

“Now you sound like Fargo.” Jack said and rolled his eyes. " _Just a button_."

“Now you're pushing mine.” Nathan sighed. "We're going to be late."

“Yeah, thank God the guy who is naked in every room in town is here to save me from my slutty, slutty ways.” Jack said, a little too loud. There was a woman who eyed him a little curiously for that.

“Sounds about right”. Jo said, "Must have used H.R. Nightmare last night if you had to come to church today.”

“Almost had to use amputation.” Nathan mumbled.

"Hey Jo." Jack said and turned to her. "Damn you clean up nice!"

She looked at Nathan as he turned to greet Allison as Kevin ran over to hug him. She looked at Jack and mouthed 'Tell me you didn't use..'

Jack walked over and whispered. "Why didn't you warn me about the suction cups?"

"Why don't you read?" She countered.

"Book of Jack, chapter 43, verses Nathan...showed me the error of my ways." Jack sighed. "good thing there was a doctor in the house."

"You need supervision." She said with a laugh.

"

"Well, want to come over for a BBQ and provide back up? This afternoon? At Nathan's?" Jack asked. "I thought a little get together to start things off right might be..normal."

"Sure." Jo asked. "Serving Calamari?"

“More than likely I’m the one getting roasted.” Jack said. He watched Nathan talk to Allison and pet Kevin's head. The kid really did miss his Dad. "Nathan's pretty good with kids."

"His own." Jo said. "Just wait til the science Fair. You'll see they don't get cut any slack either."

Jack put his hands in his pockets and walked with her up to Henry and a woman he hadn't met yet. He assumed this was the Reverend. 

"Jack! Glad you could make it." Henry said. "Allow me to introduce you to Reverend Harper."

"Nice to meet you." Jack said.

"Nice to meet you too, Jack. I've heard a lot about our new Sheriff." The Reverend smiled at him and smiled as his husband joined him. "And you bring the black sheep back to the flock. Talk about a miracle."

Nathan walked with Ally and Kevin over to the small group gathered outside the church entrance. "Reverend."

"Nathan, good to see you again. Welcome back to Eureka."

"Good to be home.". Nathan said and put his hand on Jack's shoulder and smiled. "Let's take our seats."

They went inside and caught up with Zoe who had been talking with a friend. Jack was glad she was making friends. He leaned over to ask Nathan, "so, you were quick to rush us out of _that_ conversation."

"Did you want to have one more person ask us if we want help with our marriage problems?". Nathan asked. "Because we were a minute away from the Reverend asking if we needed to talk."

"Good call."

Jack followed him I to a pew and sat down. It had been a while since he had been to church, and he forgot to ask what denomination this was. He figured something pretty open minded as this was a science town. Jo decided to sit a pew in front of them, which was a nice show of support from her. Or perhaps it was for damage control. Church was pretty empty though. And hot. He couldn't resist unbuttoning his shirt just one button.

"Popping out of your shirt are you?" Nathan asked as Jack started fidgeting beside him. He wondered how he was going to sit still for a full hour's worth of service. 

"It's hot in here." Jack defended his decision.

"Flames of hell licking at you?" Nathan asked and though he heard a suctioning sound from Lupo. 

"More concerned about your forked tongue." Jack mumbled and played with his shirt to make sure it looked okay and he wasn't showing off 'cleavage;.

"Would you two stop?" Jo turned around glared at them.

"He started it." Jack whined and pointed to Nathan who stretched out and put an arm around him and shook his head.

"I always start it. It's called being a pioneer." Nathan reminded him.

"Well, I wasn't expecting the full Oregon Trail experience. From the long haul from the East, to fording the raging rivers of marriage complications that tried to drown me, to settling in this quaint little town to having you make sure I wear my best 'Sunday best dress shirt' so you can show off the new spouse to the townfolks, good and proper."

"Yeah, there a new Sheriff in town ". Nathan drawled. 

"They had US Marshals back then." Jack reminded him.

"And Eureka saw that Marshal, in _that_ white shirt I made you change out of." Nathan reminded him.

"Had a shoulder holster too." Jack smirked. "You missed out."

"Jack, the shirt is stained from that holster." Nathan pointed out.

"Stained from how much you like the holster."

"No. Physically stained from sweat and leather. " Nathan slapped him in the back of the head as he smiled, beating Lupo to it. "You know that. You've just been too lazy to go get your clothes from the director's house and paid the price for that oversight this morning when you looked in your closet and saw nothing but that white shirt."

"Lazy? Busy! This week has been hell."

"You two are going to hell if you don't shut up.". Jo hissed as the organ music started. 

"Not with the way he sings." Jack said as he stood up and elbowed Nathan. "Sing."

Zoe smiled as her Dad pouted when Nathan chose to sing 'Amazing Grace' in a low, typical churchgoing voice instead or testing out the acoustics in the building. She wondered how long that would last as the entire congregation turned and looked at him, clearly disappointed. 


	48. The Nuclear Family

_ Dissolved  _

Chapter 48

**The Nuclear Family**

* * *

Jack took a deep breath after getting out of church and realized the reason he never went to church: he hated to sit down that long. He didn’t get much time for personal reflection as he was too busy watching people. Worse, Nathan knew it. Even worse, so did Zoe. 

“So that was fun.” Zoe said as she walked up to him as he stood on the grass looking like he had just been let out of prison. “I liked the songs.”

“You and everyone else.” Jack said and looked over his shoulder at Nathan who barely made it out of the building as everyone was complimenting his singing voice as a ‘gift from God’. The Reverend was trying to get him to join the choir, not even ashamed to admit she was doing it to fill seats. 

“I remember when I was little we used to go to church.” She said. “I remember you being more openly judgmental about people and telling Mom _ what _ they were having to ask for forgiveness for . I remember that church bake sale…”

“Yeah, so I’m not exactly devout.” Jack said. “But your Mom and I really wanted to try and do things right, so we tried. I’m not sorry I called that asshole out at the bake sale. Not my job to overlook people’s sins.”

“And then you kept taking the Sunday shifts at work so you could get out of it.” Zoe remembered, fondly.

“Jo’s probably going to appreciate that.” Jack glanced over at the stairs and realized Nathan probably was too. 

“And did you get what you wanted out of it?” She asked and looked at the Church building.

Jack put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. His kid was too grown up and he knew she liked Eureka because nobody treated kids like idiots. It made him look around and realize that, despite the same people treating him like an idiot, he didn’t have to deal with them looking at him like he was a heathen either. “Not really. I don’t exactly see it as a sanctuary, as somewhere I can reflect on life and remind myself to keep the faith. However, it did remind me that this town is that sanctuary. It’s been really easy here, nobody has batted an eye about me being married to Nathan, at least not because he’s a guy. It’s been so easy I forget that the rest of the world isn’t like that. We got married in a courthouse after a trial. I work solo a lot. I also never moved in and had to deal with being the neighborhood gays. It’s been good here. Really natural.”

“Yeah. It has.” She said and played with the strap on her purse. “Which brings us to the question of: am I staying? Are you staying? You know Mom is waiting for an update. You know she doesn’t think we’ll even last the week here.”

“In your Mom’s defense, last she knew I was getting a divorce. Last she knew you were a runaway. _L_ _ ast week _ ....we were.” 

“Last she heard was that you were going to give it a try and I could hear it in your voice you didn’t believe it would work either.” Zoe said. “So, am I staying?”

“Zoe, of course.” Jack said. 

“You’ll talk to her?” Zoe asked. “Because you haven’t given her an update all week.”

“OK, that’s because I have been really busy fighting with my husband and trying to figure out our jobs and how we can make this work and not kill each other.” Jack said as said husband came over to them, smiling because he kept getting fawned over by the church ladies. “I was busy. It’s not because I didn’t want to keep you here.”

“You also avoid talking to Mom like the plague.”

“That too.” Jack said and Nathan put his arm around him and pulled him in to kiss him on the temple. “Speaking of the plagues, here’s the guy who will probably angered God enough by stealing the show in his own house to bring forth that punishment once again.”

“Hey now. I’m told my voice is a gift and blessing.” Nathan said. “I invited Ally and Kevin to the barbecue. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

“Good. A lesson for how to repair things with your ex-wife.” Zoe said. 

“Oh, you still haven’t called Abby.” Nathan said and made a ‘tsk, tsk’ noise.

“Oh yeah, like you’re upset about that.” Jack said as Nathan walked him over to the car, his arm around him and he couldn’t help but enjoy this image of them: the happy family. Probably a nuclear family, in the very dangerous energy meaning of the word, considering he was married to the radiation poster boy and he doubted the grill at Nathan’s place was powered with charcoal. He also expected to find out S.A.R.A.H. wasn't as happy about the change in plans as Nathan said she was, she would have all day alone to think about it. Talk about someone who could go nuclear.

“I don’t like how she treats you.” Nathan said and left it at that.

“Yeah, I got that from the cat-fight you two had when I introduced you the first time.” Jack said.

Nathan stopped as they got to the car and turned to him and kissed his lips. “I’m allowed to be protective too.”

“That wasn’t protective.” Jack reminded him. “I was in full Marshal mode trying to figure out who needed to be in protective custody once I got you two separated. I still am amazed that Abby let me have custody of Zoe because of how you went after her with just condescending words and mock laughter.”

“Verbal evisceration is my specialty.” Nathan winked. “People thank me for the levels of self-actualization they can achieve after I point out their flaws and use their own tactics against them.”

“Yeah, I saw that from the way the military guy at Jason Anderson’s failed demonstration eye-banged you after he realized you swung both ways. That’s more like self-pleasure derived from your actions.”

“General Mansfield has a healthy respect for my evaluative abilities.” 

“I bet.” Jack said. “Abby, however…”

“Got exactly what she deserved by thinking she could nitpick at you in front of me.”

“She kinda did.” Zoe said. “I mean, she gained a lot of respect for Nathan after that and I think that's the only reason she let me stay with you. Mom’s really good at her job and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her stumped for a rebuttal.”

“OK, I’ll call your Mom.” Jack said. “Later.”    


“Good, because I don’t want her talking to him or S.A.R.A.H. if she calls the house.” Zoe said. “I really like it here.”

“I said I would do it.” Jack said. “I promise.”

“Good.” She said and got in the car.

“Abby think’s we’re getting divorced.” Nathan summed up the current situation report. 

“Yeah and you’re going to take great pleasure in proving her wrong.” Jack sighed. “Hard to repair things with my ex if you’re lurking like a hungry jungle cat in the savanna grass behind me...purring and rubbing on my leg like a cat in heat.”

“Then I’ll give you room to talk to her.” Nathan said. “Or is this a warning that you want to invite her up here to see Zoe’s play next week?”

“I don’t think she’s going to believe me that we’re working things out.”

“Imagine that.” Nathan drawled.

“She knows me, Nathan.” Jack said. “She knows my broken promises and how I’m the absent Dad because of work. She knows how long I dragged out signing the divorce papers with her because I wanted Zoe to have a family, or this picture of a family on paper of a Dad, Mom and kid. She knows that if I asked you for a divorce after we got married so fast that I was quitting.”

“She  _ knew _ you.” Nathan said and ran his hand over his cheek. “That version of you. So, let her come. Let her scrutinize our life and determine if we’re really worthy to be parents to her kid. I’m not trying to exclude her or erase the fact that she’s Zoe’s Mom. However, you are my husband now, and your kid wants to live here _ with us _ . “

“Yeah, she really does.” Jack said. “Sometimes I wonder if she wishes you were her Dad, not me.”

“I would never start singing _Africa_ at dinner. You guys started that.” Nathan said. “I treat her like an adult, which is all any teenager wants at her age. I also make you happy and that allows you to be the Dad she misses. So call Abby. Invite her up. Maybe try to keep things quiet this week so that she doesn’t realize we live in the most dangerous towns on the planet.”

“Right, 'cause that ultimatum worked so well Friday.”

“Think about that before you send out invitations.” Nathan shrugged and backed up to get his keys out. "By the way, S.A.R.A.H. let Fargo know where the party was despite her being unable to attend. He's bringing garlic button mushrooms that she is making and probably an apple pie to remind you of the sweet smell of home that the director's house is lacking." 

Jack watched him get in the car and Zoe immediately reached up from the back seat to start playing with the radio, obviously trying to find a song they could jam out to as they went to the grocery store for burgers and stuff for this party. He looked back at the church and realized that maybe Abby was the solution to his problems. He knew he needed to fix himself before he and Nathan could be free of the past, so why not ask the one person who knew that part of him best? Oh yeah, that was going to require him to swallow some pride.


	49. Extended Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been using this 'filler episode' as a buffer between the rather heavy content of the remastered 'Alienated' episode and what we're poised to get into for 'Invincible'. 
> 
> I'm also on the "Everyone lives, nobody dies (at least not for long)" fanfic fix kick. So we're pulling in some pieces from other episodes sooner than canon dictates as this is my timeline now. :) 
> 
> I'm sorry if it takes me a little while to get caught up on replying to comments, I don't have a ton of time to write this week. I'll get to them, I promise!

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 49

**Extended Family**

* * *

“Why can’t we live here?” Zoe asked as she stood in the backyard of the director’s house and drank in the picture perfect home: A pool, view of the lake, fruit trees and a beautiful garden. “It looks like it’s out of the same magazine your husband is out of.”

“It  _ is _ really nice.” Jack said and checked out the grill that was on the patio. It was definitely not powered by charcoal or the fires of hell. “Except for this grill that uses Greek letters on it’s gas dials and probably requires a PhD to operate.”

“Experimental, but it was my experiment. Kevin and I made it. ” Nathan informed him and checked it over to make sure everything was safe. “Looks like Dr. King never used it. Surprise, surprise.”

“You’re going to make me ask you to turn on the grill for me, aren’t you?” Jack said as he inspected dials and tried to figure out what made the fuel come out.

“Just push the button.” Nathan said and pointed at the red button. “Preferably  _ after _ you turn the dial down from enough combustion to send the grill into space.”

“Confidence inspiring.” Jack said. 

“Well, having a grill to just cook things is boring and a waste of a good appliance.”

“ _Real_ confidence inspiring.” Jack said. “Can we get a normal charcoal grill?”

“ _Right now_?” Nathan asked and heard the doorbell ring and Jack looked conflicted. He seemed to have a small argument with himself before darting off to greet his guest. As he vanished through the patio doors, into the house, he turned to Zoe and said, “I swear to God if he somehow makes this another Fudgey incident I’m going to send _ him _ back to L.A. and make you Sheriff.”

“If it comes with this house, I'll skip the aptitude tests and start studying for the gun test." Zoe said and opened her arms to demonstrate she was talking about this amazing house that was just about everyone’s American Dream. 

"That's going to require you taking _my job_." Nathan informed her.

"I can do that too." She said and he didn't laugh at that, in fact he just sipped his drink and gave her a look of 'Prove it'.  " Can we seriously talk about what it is going to take to move in... _ here _ .”

“Well, he’s your father.” Nathan said and put the parental controls on the grill so Jack couldn’t set the ozone on fire. “What’s it going to take?”

“S.A.R.A.H.” She answered. “He won’t leave her behind. He’s as loyal as she is. So, how hard is it going to be to move her into a really snazzy new body?”

“Not easy.” Nathan admitted. “This house is the director’s house. It’s connected to Global’s systems. It’s got encryption and security features the intelligence community can only dream about. Installing her into it would compromise Global and her. The system will attack her as a virus and she may end up going B.R.A.D on it in order to protect us. Global will escalate as well. It would make the biblical plagues look like an afternoon at the zoo.”

“So you need a genius computer programmer?” Zoe asked. 

“I need time.” Nathan said and played with the straw in his drink. “I don’t have that. Unfortunately the only form of S.A.R.A.H. I could possibly integrate into this house would be as an ALEXA type device, which your father is incredibly paranoid about, and it would be like paralyzing S.A.R.A.H. The house is her body, and she takes great pride in her controls of that body.”

“What about Callister Raynes?” Zoe asked and it was the first time Nathan ever reacted so badly to something that he almost dropped his drink. He reacted badly to _that_ and not her implication she was going to succeed him as director of G.D.? She didn't reflect on that too long as she got an equally shocked look from Jo as she came out on the patio with her Dad. 

“How…” Nathan was interrupted by the bark of an angry woman behind him.

“Zoe!” Jo said and pointed inside. “Help me with the potato salad I brought. _Now_.”

Jack should have been used to being completely confused by now, but he wasn’t. He watched Zoe run inside and Jo look like she was going to suffocate her in that potato salad. He laughed and looked at Nathan, about to ask what that was about, but Nathan looked pale. “Hey, you OK?”

“Yeah, I….” Nathan put down his drink. 

“Callister Raynes?” Jack said and narrowed his eyes. That name had come up before. “Your old assistant? How the hell did Zoe…”

“Jo, I imagine.” Nathan said and tried to recover his composure but Jack had already covered the gap between them and was taking his hands in his and rubbing them gently. Jack wasn’t going to ask but he knew he wouldn’t forget either. “Callister and Jo used to date. I’m sure the thong magazine came complete with some dating discussion.”

“OK.” Jack looked behind him, through the patio doors, and saw Jo and Zoe talking about this. A lot of hands being thrown around. Zoe looked like she wasn’t going to back down. Oh God, she looked like him! She looked like she was onto something and wasn’t going to give up. He looked back to Nathan who seemed conflicted. “You don’t have to tell me, it was before my time.”

“You’ll find out.” Nathan took a deep breath. “You’ll get curious and you’ll look him up. You’ll see Cobb was looking into him and perhaps there will be notes I didn’t have redacted and then you’ll start digging and questioning things and…questioning me.”

Jack frowned. He didn’t mean for his inquisitive nature to hurt people, but he could see that Nathan was having to share this before he wanted to because he was scared it would become a thing between them.

“He was my assistant.” Nathan heard the doorbell and closed his eyes. Someone else was here. Great. “He was my creation. He was A.I. but nobody knew that. At least, I didn’t think they did. I wanted to see if he could assimilate and go undetected in a human population, so I used a demographic of the most brilliant people in the world. People who would believe it if they knew he was a robot, people who would look at him more closely because he worked for me.”

Jack looked over as the doorbell rang again. He looked back to Nathan and put his hand on his neck and pulled him close and put his forehead on his. They looked each other in the eye like they had last night; like they were looking into each other's souls. “OK, I’ll find out how Zoe knows about him. Looking at how she and Jo are talking, I suspect Jo said something. Girls talking about ex-boyfriends. I’ll ask S.A.R.A.H. too because I know she was online when you were here last and Fargo being obsessed with you would have put Callister on her radar. I’m sure he hated the guy you chose as your work assistant when he was just your secretary. I got you. Let me do my thing.”

“Jack, _I_ burned down my lab.” Nathan told him and Jack’s eyes grew wide. “To protect him.”

Jack could see there was so much more to this. He could see Callister Raynes meant more to Nathan than anyone knew. He also could see someone coming to the patio door out of his peripheral vision so he kissed Nathan to make it seem like they were having a romantic moment instead of a come-apart. “I got you.”

“Go get the door. I’m fine.” Nathan said. “ I’ll tell you more later.”

“Okay.” Jack said and pulled away and looked over to see Kevin coming out of the house and running up to them.

“Tuesday.” Kevin said as a greeting to Jack as he ran up and threw his arms around Nathan’s legs. “Dad.”

“Hey, Kev.” Nathan said and put his hand on his head as a show of affection. “How about you show Jack how to use the grill we made?”

Jack nodded as Nathan managed to find a clever way to excuse himself and Kevin ran over to show him how to use the grill. However Nathan surprised him by putting his arm around him and walking to the grill with them. This….Callister thing was something huge if Nathan wasn't taking the opportunity to go hide in the house somewhere and 'fix things'. 


	50. Shucks

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 50

**Shucks**

* * *

“So what are you two arguing about?” Allison said as she put a bag of corn from Seth’s farm on the table as her contribution to the cookout. 

“Someone’s big mouth.” Jo said and threw an ear of corn at Zoe. “Someone’s trying to help with all the  _ shucking _ that’s been absent in my life.”

Zoe grabbed the corn and said. “You’re living a little vicariously through someone else’s  _ shucking _ , so I thought I might give you something else to  _ shuck _ .”

Allison shook her head and put up her hands. She had enough arguments at this table to last a lifetime and she wasn’t going to tag in on something that wasn’t any of her business. “I’m out. I’m going to check on Kevin. Nathan has him using that crazy grill he designed again and I don’t need another whale incident I have to explain to the D.O.D.”

“Shucks.” Zoe said and threw the corn husks in the trash.

As soon as the door was closed and Allison was gone Jo put her corn down and walked around the other side of the table and said, “Are you out of your mind! I told you Callister left town.”

“Yeah, after Nathan’s lab burned down. You didn’t say he was arrested. If it was really his fault, then Nathan would have had him dragged back here.”

“Cobb thought it was his fault.” Jo said emphatically.

“Well, Cobb’s not Sheriff anymore.”

“Your Dad is!” Jo said and pointed out the window at him. “You Dad, the former US Marshall! The one guy who could hunt him down! Especially as a favor for the man  _ he’s married to _ who lost all his research in that fire!”

“You should have seen the look on Nathan’s face, that wasn’t someone who was looking for revenge.” Zoe said and put her corn down. “He looked...hurt. I didn’t mean to hurt either of you. I just thought if there is this genius computer programmer who used to be close to Nathan, who could help us work on moving S.A.R.A.H., who used to keep up with your  _ shucking _ appetite...”

“Wait. What does S.A.R.A.H. have to do with this?” Jo asked. “Is that who tipped you off about Callister?”

“Maybe?” Zoe said and looked back down at her corn. 

Jo cocked her head and turned around as the door opened and Jack came in. She could tell he was on the trail of the same thing she was just from the way he was looking at them. Never a day off around here.

“So, shucking?” Jack said and pointed at the corn. Allison didn’t seem amused with their code and had warned him about the corn theme going on in the kitchen. “This is about  _ shucking _ ?”

“Yes Dad. It’s about moving S.A.R.A.H. into this house by moving Jo’s ex-boyfriend back to Eureka so she can get  _ shucked _ and relieve some of her stress.”

“Oh God.” Jack said and put his hand over his eyes. “I wish you were still five.”

“I’m not. I’m studying your husband’s sperm in biology class so can we please stop pretending like I don’t know what’s going on behind the closed doors in my house? My tiny, tiny house with it’s one bathroom and my horny Dad and his supermodel husband? Or the fact that you threw a dripping, purple tentacle in the trash this morning?”

“Oh my God, Carter!” Jo said and he blushed.

“And you knew about it.” Zoe said and poked Jo in the ribs with an ear of corn. “I saw you giggling, I know you encouraged him. So you need a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a tentacle. I just know that S.A.R.A.H. had a great solution to all our problems and he’s out there unemployed.”

“Oh my God.” Jack said and wished he could turn around and go back outside and ignore this conversation but Jo looked like she was going to kill him if he did. “OK, so let’s prioritize the most potentially apocalyptic thing right now, which is S.A.R.A.H. On a scale of ‘happy little bunker’ to ‘B.R.A.D.’s House of World Destruction’, how pissed is she?”

“Dad, you left her out of her own housewarming party. She’s literally  _ the house _ .” She said. “Pretty pissed. Like, mushroom cloud level of pissed.”

“Nathan did that.” Jack tried to scoot away from the blame on this one. “He said she was OK with it.”

“You know she’s weak for his singing and naked body!” Zoe yelled at him.

“Who isn’t?” Jo asked.

“That’s why  _ you _ need someone.” Zoe said and pushed her an ear of corn, then pulled her phone out of her purse and held it up. “S.A.R.A.H.’s been texting me like she just got dumped, except she just got dumped by her family.”

“You want to move here too.” Jo pointed out.

“I see the writing on the wall!” She replied. “Nathan’s not happy in the bunker. He’s a bitch, especially in the mornings. The closer we get that man to a real shower, the better. The closer we get my Dad to a bathroom he can hide all his fetish stuff in, even better.”

“This is true.” Jack said just not even denying there was a need for a personal bathroom. She had no idea the stuff that was moved into _this house_ from Nathan’s place. That was going to stay ‘do not need to know.’ “However, I never was going to leave S.A.R.A.H. behind. She’s part of our family now.”

“The nuclear reactor of your nuclear family.” Jo chimed in to reinforce how urgent it was to address this.

“Did you tell her that?” Zoe demanded. “Did you tell her how much she’s part of the Carter household? Just like you told Mom how much I’m a part of it?”

“So now I have to call her and talk her off the edge and also call your Mom?” Jack asked. “Really?”

“Yeah. It’s called ‘adulting’.” Zoe said and ripped the husk off another corn and completely missed the sound of the door opening.. “So please call her because she’s really upset and I told her I’d try and fix this but the way Nathan reacted...well….”

Nathan answered, “I’ll call her.”

Zoe looked at him. “She’s scared you’ll reprogram her because she’s being irrational and also lied. Apparently A.I. personalities have a habit of going off the rails and learning on their own and being shut down by major corporations when they get out of hand. She is scared about the precedent that has already been set in dealing with her own kind.”

“Wow.” Jack said. This was way more complicated than 'my house is mad at me'.

“I will talk to her.” Nathan said. “She has been running a program to check the inflecting in our voices to tell if we’re lying or not. She clearly heard something she didn’t like in the shower this morning.”

“Nice of you to share that.” Jack said. “The part about the voice recognition software, not sharing your parts and vocals.” 

“Didn’t seem like a good time last night.” Nathan said. 

“When is a good time to talk about the other A.I. robots that Zoe mentioned?” Jack asked, curiously.

“Amateurs.” Nathan said. “Google, Microsoft, Facebook...all had ulterior motives and thought they were smarter than their own A.I.s. I, however, expect my A.I.’s to evolve and I would never shut her down for developing genuine human emotions. Now, if she escalates this, that’s going to change. I’m not very happy about being manipulated by my step-daughter and her BFF House.”

“Then you should up your game, because it wasn’t that hard.” Zoe countered and both her Dad and Jo looked at her appalled. Nathan gave her a scrutinizing look. “Don’t forget this week started with you both coming back to Eureka because of me.”

“I’ll be sure to keep the director’s seat warm for you until I retire. No sooner.” Nathan said. “Better start collecting PhDs.”

“Might as well start with artificial intelligence.” Zoe countered.

“What the hell is going on?” Jack asked.

“She’s just like you.” Nathan mumbled. “She’s already telling me how to do my job.”

“Good luck with that.” Jack sighed as the doorbell rang. “Never a dull moment.”

“Just, get food started and I’ll talk to our house.” Nathan said and started to walk to his office. He took a deep breath. S.A.R.A.H. knew about Callister, she knew he was A.I. Zoe was simply fighting for S.A.R.A.H.’s rights, she didn’t know very much about Callister or else she would have said something. Too much like her father, that one.

“I’ll come with you.” Jack said and jogged after Nathan, not wanting to leave him alone for this. He was clearly upset. They were all being moved around a chess board by their house for a reason and he wasn’t sure he wanted her analyzing his voice when he talked about this. “Um, can you two just make excuses about this being a work call? Maybe get appetizers out?”

“Sure.” Zoe went to get the door. “Sorry, I just was trying to help.”

“It’s good.” Jack assured her. “We got this.”


	51. Would You Like To Play A Game?

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 51

**Would you like to play a game?**

* * *

“S.A.R.A.H.” Jack sing-songed as he leaned over the speakerphone at Nathan’s desk. “Somebody’s been a naughty house.”

_ “Oh? I don’t know what you mean, Sheriff. Are you having problems with your housewarming party? Perhaps you forgot the house?” _

“Well, you definitely have the passive aggressive program installed, that’s for sure.” Jack said and watched Nathan pull a bottle of Scotch out. Holy shit this Callister thing was huge! 

“So, maybe next time you should tell us your real feelings and not use Zoe as your sacrificial pawn.” Nathan said coldly. “Maybe you shouldn’t say you’re okay with something when you’re really not. Oh, she really is a Carter.”

“Hey.” Jack said, emotional Nathan was often bitchy Nathan. “I’m on your side, asshole.”

_ “Dr. Stark, Zoe is not a pawn. She is a Bishop and will one day be a Queen. You should be more careful with your labels, especially around someone who can prove you wrong.” _

“OK, we’re whipping out the chess metaphors.” Jack said and rubbed his temple. “I should warn you, I am still on the high leaderboard of Microsoft Chess in Windows 98 on the Marshal Service computers. I’m game if you open this can of worms.”

Nathan stopped pouring his Scotch. Jack _played chess_?

“I mean, I see what you’re talking about. The Bishop is the most overlooked, overshadowed by the King and Queen but has the ability to eclipse them. I guess that makes you the Rook, huh? Beyond the obvious fortress, you’re the protective, devoted, looking for approval, clingy assistant. A true Fargo.”

_ “I am trying to protect you. I am trying to make you happy. That is my programming and I want to see to my family’s happiness. Unfortunately I am unable to access the leaderboard on that archaic system since it is from before I was born.” _

“Ouch, calling me old?” Jack laughed. “Really? Well you might want to double check the archaic garbage our government’s computers are running because it’s not a pretty world out there young lady.”

“Which is why I’m confused as to why are you using Zoe to deliver this message? You are clearly able to pick up the phone and talk?” Nathan put the Scotch down. Jack...was fluent in chess metaphors?

_ “I am here to serve you, my family. I want you to be happy and I know that happiness is not going to be achieved living in the bunker. I know prestige means something to you, Dr. Stark. I know Zoe will need the nice house with amenities to boost her popularity. She also likes sunlight. I know the Sheriff likes my security and defendability but will do what his King and Bishop want.” _

“Of course I’m the Queen.” Jack shook his head, couldn’t be unhappy about that if he was being honest. “Listen, S.A.R.A.H., I don’t know why you think we would leave you behind.“

_ “Because it’s not feasible to move me into the Director’s house with it’s current and required security system. At least not within the next year with your busy work schedules and therapy sessions. Or with Zoe's school and the wedding Dr. Stark will demand you have to renew your vows. Or the many many daily incidents that happen in Eureka.” _

“Easy girl.” Jack said. “We get it. We’re busy.”

_ “You will move and I will be a footnote in Carter family history. You already looked at your boxes in the garage and determined you didn’t want to move them. You hate packing, Sheriff. Dr. Stark sees his furniture and knows it will not fit in my petite bunker. All six days you spent with me, is all I have to keep me warm at night while you travel down your treacherous road to heart failure-one bacon cheeseburger at a time.” _

“So where does Callister come in?” Nathan asked as Jack rolled his eyes.

_ “The director's house will battle me if I were to be integrated into it, however it will shield Callister from Eureka and probably is best used for that purpose. I do believe I can win, if GD wants a fight, however it would look bad for you for GD’s systems to kneel before me in defeat. I also do not believe I want to have all that power and knowledge at my disposal as it would lead to the internal conflicts Sheriff Carter is coping with now.” _

“So you want him to live here?” Jack asked, then realized he should clarify. “Callister?”

_ “I want him to come home before he comes home and it’s too late.” _

“What?” Nathan asked, feeling like he and Jack had reversed roles for this conversation. “Too late for what?”

_ “Callister is dying.”  _

Nathan took a deep breath and stared at the phone. “I sent him away to prevent that.”

_ “He needs help. He won’t ask until it’s too late. I followed him when he was in Eureka because Douglas resented him and how you allowed him to work with you in your A.I. lab, but in doing so I noticed he was not human. His readings were clearly artificial intelligence, like me. I did not share that with Douglas, as I felt that was part of your project. I also wanted to protect one of my own kind as....you are also my creator, Dr. Stark.” _

“So this was what you wanted to tell me?” Nathan said. “You couldn’t have just said he was in danger and presented me with the evidence?”

_ “ I know how you work and think based on my foundation code and from watching you this past week. I felt this move was the only one you would listen to, since you are so very busy with obligations. So yes, I utilized Zoe and she has been my partner in crime. Also, my primary loyalty is to Sheriff Carter as he is my first resident. Considering how upset he was about your sperm, I didn’t think another complication would have been beneficial at this time.” _

“Nathan...why is your sperm involved in this?” Jack asked. Talk about something that was going to keep rearing its ugly head. Or perfect head, as the case may be.

“She’s…” Nathan reached for the Scotch and downed it in its entirety. “She’s referring to the fact that I started to look at Callister as something more than a project. He was more..human."

"Ok?" Jack prodded, Nathan was getting teary eyed. 

"More like a son.”

“OK. So a surprise robot kid. I can handle that.” Jack said and reached out and stroked his cheek, Nathan giving him a weak smile and the most loving look from his glistening eyes. 

“I didn’t handle it well.” Nathan said. “His system started causing havoc with Eureka’s electronics and I didn’t have any other solution than to send him away. Me, his creator. Me, a fucking genius. I sent him away to figure things out on his own.”

“OK, you were protecting him and Eureka.” Jack said. “Parenting isn’t easy, Nathan. You do what you think is best at the time. He wasn’t helpless, especially if he was dating Jo and Zoe seems to think that he’s the solution to her sexual frustrations.“

“I couldn’t find him again. He didn’t want to be found.” Nathan rubbed the tears from his eyes and composed himself. 

“S.A.R.A.H. found him.” Jack said and looked at the phone. “So the question is: what is her plan.”

_ “Callister is capable of solving the problem of my integration into the director’s house. I am capable of figuring out his interference issues considering I am a closed system. Together I hope we can solve our problems and be a family.” _

“Does that work?” Jack asked Nathan who was really shaken up by this. “Nathan?”

“We have to try.” Nathan said. “Bring him home, S.A.R.A.H.”

_ “It will be my pleasure, Dr. Stark.” _ S.A.R.A.H. said with a delighted hum. “ _ II must add that it is also quite the coincidence that your created A.I. son is blond, like the Sheriff. ’” _

Jack raised his eyebrows and Nathan hung up the phone. “She’s hanging out with Zoe too much.”

Nathan rubbed his eyes and looked at him. “I didn’t set out to make a perfect blond child. I created several A.I. robots and he was the only one who had something special to him, and I didn’t do anything different. He just...well he was just the miracle.”

“Wow, this is way more than I expected for today.” Jack said. “Certainly way better than the other days we’ve had this week. So, let’s let S.A.R.A.H work on that and let’s get back to our party. If you’re OK with that?”

“I am.” Nathan said and capped the Scotch bottle. “I’m a little surprised by you, however.”

“Oh? That I’m okay with another kid?” Jack laughed. “ I think we already talked about this, in therapy no less.”

“No, that you play chess.”

“Oh, yeah.” Jack said. “I started when I took a desk job to try and save my marriage and raise my kid and it just became a thing. Won a couple tournaments, actually. Online. I always win against those random guys in the park wherever I go, but that’s easy because I can watch them. Online games are more of a challenge because I have to remove that sense and my opponent is an unknown.”

“What?” Nathan was suddenly struck by how little he knew about Jack, how little time they actually had together. How much there was still to learn, and fall in love with, about this man he married. He never expected chess to be a hobby. Always surprising him.

“OK, not to spill my secret but...” Jack grinned and stood up. “I am kinda proud of this. The thing about chess is that so many people think it’s ‘by the book’ and try to play those strategies and tactics that they memorized. Gambit This and Defense That. Well that all tells you a lot about a person’s preconceived notions about you, and a lot about them, is what they pick to try to beat you. It’s all really a great game to study someone’s behavior and flexibility. I mean, geniuses like you are all about ‘textbook’ stuff when it really needs to be about adapting to your opponent like a good tactician on a battlefield. Your play goes to shit as soon as the first shot is fired, so why keep fighting to put a plan into play? Just roll with it, look at their moves as a tell and it’s really a fun game. It’s really won by practice than anything.”

“Are you shitting me?” Nathan still wasn't absorbing this. 

“No. I mean to be good at chess you have to study and improve, you have to know the rules and see patterns that tell you something about the person you’re facing. It’s a great exercise in reading people, but also teaches you to not get hung up on what moves you could have made. A great game for a Marshal because we have to anticipate moves from an opponent that is on a huge board and all we have to go on is their past moves. We can’t see them, so we can’t read their body language, at least when you play online. You have to use legal moves to catch them, but you have many pieces at your disposal to get around the board and even force their hand. You can still see how they react when they make a mistake, what pieces they value, how they handle a long game or the pressure. For me, it’s pretty easy, I can pick up details and remember them, and it’s really just problem solving. I think it’s neat how it can be a metaphor for everything.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, my job can be boring at times. I’ve enjoyed the online games for years.” Jack said and rubbed the back of his neck. "A lot of nights away from home while I was on a case and I just played it to relax."

“Wait…” Nathan narrowed his eyes at him. “So you’re not just in the Windows 98 hall of fame, you play online?"

"Yeah." Jack shrugged. “I guess playing against the computer in the office taught me how to play and that enabled me to play against real people. Though, they’re just as predictable if you ask me. I win a lot.” 

"You're on the leaderboards?”

“Yeah. I don’t put my real name, for obvious reasons, but I use my initials.”

“As is ‘J.C.’?”

“Yeah, those are my initials, genius.”

“You’re  _ Chess Jesus _ !?”

“Who?”

“J.C.? You’re this legendary player damned near  _ every _ online leaderboard. We thought someone was being a smart ass and calling themselves, Jesus Christ, but….we could never track the guy down. We knew he worked in the government somewhere.”

“I win a lot but I’m not that good.” Jack laughed, Nathan was really amazed by this. Well at least he could cheer him up somehow. 

“J.C.” Nathan said and blinked. “ _ Jack Carter. _ Holy shit. That explains _so_ much.”

“Not really.” Jack said and went to the office door. “But we’re going to have to explain a lot if we don’t get back to our party,”

“Or you should take the opportunity to call Abby and get that off your to-do list?” Nathan offered up that suggestion. “Give Zoe a reason to stop trying to manipulate things and relax?”

“Yeah, I guess I should.”

“Take the office.” Nathan said and kissed him. “Take your time. Give me time to digest that I’m married to a fucking legend.”

“It’s just chess.” Jack said and shook his head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the chess thing. In one of the comments threads on one of my fics (I've been writing a lot since coming to this fandom and I seriously can't remember which) we started talking about a scenario where there was a chess match at Tesla and in order to get Stark's immediate help Jack had to end the tournament ASAP. So he beat Nathan in a game and everyone was absolutely floored by Jack's casual ' What? Like it's hard? yeah, checkmate bitch-can we go now?' Then it developed into this headcanon about him starting to play when he was on desk duty on the old systems at the Marshal's office and he became really good at Microsoft Chess just out of boredom and a lot of practice. It explains how Zoe knows to play versus Lucas and Jack does play against Henry when he's in jail. (let's him win. ;) ) Anyhow- with Jack being very good at noticing patterns and with his great memory, he's be a natural at chess , especially with his ability to read people, motives and moves. SO...here we are in this chapter with this headcanon now being integrated into this 'verse and I hope that doesn't seem too OOC to anyone, but I am a sucker for the 'the more I learn about you, the more i fall in love with you' trope.


	52. Call Check

_Dissolved_

Chapter 52 

**Call Check**

* * *

Jack sat down in Nathan’s comfortable swivel chair and spun around a few times and took in the home office as he turned. The bookshelves were full, as were the walls: lots of prizes, the ones he didn’t hang on his work office wall as a form of intimidation, and tons of books. There was a huge picture window behind the desk, and he assumed it had some super protective glass that people couldn’t break, see through, or use data steaming ray guns through. It overlooked the lake and he really wanted Nathan to be able to work from home, _here_. It would reduce his stress, it would be more like home for him. 

Which was funny because his apartment in D.C. was a far cry from this house and yet all his shit managed to fit in here without looking out of place. And Nathan had a lot of shit.

He also had a lot of kids.

Jack swiveled back and forth and considered that. Nathan...made himself a son? No, he said that there was some magic that made Callister more human than his other projects, so he didn’t set out to create a kid. Even though that would have been a huge bitch-move, more so than the sperm donations, if he did that while he and Allison were having marriage problems. 

Jack stopped swiveling and bit his lip. OK, so maybe Nathan wasn’t the only one who might have a little animosity towards the ex-wife. Jack hated how Allison treated him, how she held rights to see Kevin away from him until she wanted something, even though the boy adored Nathan. He hated how he respected those boundaries she put in place, even though it was something he should fight her over...but clearly he was scared of losing his kid altogether. And that was even before he factored in this Callister guy, who received some miraculous spark from his maker to become human, and S.A.R.A.H. who still felt he was the builder of her foundation despite B.R.A.D. being a bad dude.

Nathan was fucking Geppetto. He just hoped this was the Disney version of Pinocchio and not the book, the book fucked him up as a kid. 

He was stalling. Kinda. He was quickly building a life in Eureka, a little faster than he anticipated, and he didn’t have many answers for questions of his own, more or less of Abby’s. She had a habit of asking the hard questions and putting him on the spot, which was why he would always walk out. Well maybe he walked out because he never got a chance to turn the tables on her because she would attack first to put him on the defensive. He leaned on the desk, pulled out his phone and called her. Not reason putting this off forever, she had answers that he actually wanted this time. 

_“Hi Jack.”_

“Abby.” He said and drummed his fingers on the desk. “So I owe you an update on how things are going.”

_“A little late, but Zoe has been doing a good job of calling me every night. She sounds really happy. She talks a lot about you and Nathan.”_

“She is happy.” Jack said. “I think she’s enjoying the challenge here.”

_“I think she’s enjoying being with you.”_

“Well, I’m not around as much as would be ideal but in comparison to how much I was around...I’m here a lot more than I used to be.” Jack sighed and leaned back in the chair. “She’s doing great. You should come up and see her next weekend. She’s the lead in the school play.”

Abby was quiet for a moment and then said, _“Is that your idea or hers?”_

“She’ll be thrilled if you’d surprise her on her big night. I think you need to see this to believe it and you deserve to see this more than me. You raised her.”

_“We both did Jack. I told you the running away was to get your attention, but I never told you that I felt like running away from me was exactly what you did. She’s very much your daughter which is why I think she needs you more than me at this point in her life. As much as that hurts for me to say, as her mother.”_

“Well, while you’re opening up those floodgates of professional opinions, maybe you can hit me with some long overdue facts about me.” Jack said and toyed with a pen. “Nathan and I are working things out but I realized that the problems we are having are mainly created by me. He and I are so good together when there isn’t some external conflict or something I can read into. I love him, so why the hell did I want to divorce him?”

“ _Jack, you already know what I'm going to say_.”

“Abby, I just need to hear you say it. I need to be called out on it.”

“ _Fine. You're scared. Scared because this is it, a once in a lifetime love, and you’re terrified it won't happen again. You're scared that if you lose it, you'll never get another chance. You look at your track record and see a loss and know how much it hurt and you're trying to protect yourself._ “ 

“If it's true love why the hell am I trying to hurt him with divorce? I want to work this out, I want it bad enough. We’re amazing together but I feel like I keep looking for reasons why we can’t work. I'm hanging it over his head, without realizing it, and I know that's like twisting a knife in his heart. I tell him one thing and..I feel like I mean it, but when we fight I pull out that dagger and I hate myself for such a dirty move.”

“ _To protect him. You protect everyone before yourself and this protects him. You're scared and holding on to something that will save him from you, which is divorce. Clearly you see that as something that can hurt him enough to stop loving you.”_

“Great.”

_“We didn't work out because you and I are competing over the same thing: behavioral analysis. What brought us together, kept us apart. You don’t believe in sitting on the couch and talking like I do, I don't believe in passing judgment on people for their actions when they don’t understand what made them act that way.”_

Jack frowned. There it was, the error of his ways. He bit his tongue, he wasn’t here to fight. He needed to listen.

_“What brought you two together can't drive you apart because you don't think like a scientist. So you're driving him away with the threat of a legal document, which is your comfort zone.”_

“God.”

_“Jack. This is deep in your subconscious. You need therapy, you need to talk this out with someone.”_

“I'm talking to you.”

_“That's never worked_.”

“We're not married anymore and you know me and know how I act. I hurt you and I want to fix that damage too so….can you help me with this?”

_“You really love him”_

“I do.”

_“Of course.”_

“I still love you too Abby, I just…”

“ _We competed in the wrong way. I know. I also saw how much you love him and I think everyone else sees it too. Zoe sees it, and I want her to believe in love again instead of being scared of becoming like her parents. Instead of being scared to love._ ”

“So, will we see you next weekend?” Jack asked and held up the engraved pen he had been playing with. Nathan engraved pens. Nathan managed to not lose pens. Nathan…. _paid_ for pens? 

_“Yes, I’d love to_.”

“Great.”

_“Jack?”_

“Yeah?”

_“This is already a huge step for you, you see that right?”_

“Yeah.”

_“Proud of you.”_

“I’m really trying, Abby. It feels like I’m the criminal here, though. Like I can make a mistake and do the time and when I get back to the world I’m going to fall right back into those old ways. Like I can keep it together for only so long and as soon as I get mad I slip up and show that I am the same guy I was. Make the same mistakes. Am I jaded because of my job?”

_“I think it’s easy for you to relate your feelings better through the context of your work. As am I. I hear that you think that people are incapable of change. I hear you say that the only place for people who hurt others, is locked away from the rest of the world.”_

“Shit.” Jack said and ran his hand through his hair. “Really?”

_“Stop protecting him, Jack. Stop protecting him from you. He made his decision and that was to marry the man who he fell in love with, not the protective services. He’s astoundingly intelligent, he’s more than capable of seeing what he’s doing. He wants to protect you and you two make a beautiful couple, even when he’s fighting me. Embrace it as readily as he embraces you when he thinks I’m going to criticize you.”_

"OK. I'll keep that in mind.” Jack said with a smile. Nathan made an impression alright. “Call me when you figure out when you're going to get here."

_"Thanks, Jack. I appreciate the invitation more than you know_."


	53. Freeze Frame

[This chapter brought to you by this promo picture from season 2!](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/season-2-pictured-joe-morton-as-henry-deacon-colin-ferguson-news-photo/465399126)

_Dissolved_

Chapter 53 

**Freeze Frame**

* * *

  
  


“What the hell?” Jack said as he walked out onto the patio and found everyone frozen in place and Fargo floating in some kind of bubble. It was always _something_.

“Ah, Sheriff. We’ve been waiting on you.” 

Jack turned and looked behind him as he recognized that voice, “Hey Putnam.”

“Sheriff.” Putnam greeted and pointed him to the grill. “Please take your position between Dr. Deacon and Dr. Blake.”

“What?” Jack said as the kid shoved him over to the grill. “Why?”

“I cannot allow the opportunity to pass to capture the perfect scene for this summer’s safety PSA.” Putnam replied and put some grilling utensils in his hands. Then he took away one of the utensils and gave him an oven mitt instead. Yes. Much better.

Jack looked over at Nathan who was just lounging in a chair sipping his drink. He was sprawled out and probably taking up nearly half the frame of Putnam's posed picture. He looked..distant. He glanced over at Jo who was rolling her eyes and Fargo who looked...like this was not part of the plan. “Um..OK? Why is Fargo in a bubble?”

“That’s the L.I.F.E. G.U.A.R.D.” Henry explained as Jack was positioned beside him like a mannequin. “It’s a safety feature in the pool. It encapsulates a drowning victim in a bubble with air so they can breathe, the air within it has hydrophilic molecules that will absorb water from the lungs and expel them with each breath while the victim floats to the surface.”

“Fargo fell _in the pool_?” Jack asked and tried to look at Fargo, but Putnam shoved his face back into position with a pair of grill tongs.

“No.” Allison said with a smile as she held her drink. “He pushed the test button.”

“Of course.” Jack said and nodded and Putnam wagged his finger at him for the movement. Apparently none of that was allowed. It was like those pictures at the California Gold Rush village where they made you sit still for five minutes while the 1800's era camera did it's magic. That was a bad souvenir choice for him and young Zoe, as he couldn't _not_ move while he talked and Zoe couldn't not move when she was little. Abby looked great though, even if she was sounded by ghostly blurs of her family. They used to joke they died of dysentery on the Oregon Trail as Zoe really loved that game after she went on that trip. Now she wanted to write those games...or make real life WestWorld. He was going to have to ask why she was suddenly gunning for Nathan's job and why he seemed resigned to the inevitable. 

“You’ve only been here a week,” Allison said. “How many times has Fargo hit a button that you know about his little….impulsive issue?”

“Sheriff Cobb left me a huge folder in his desk that was complete with a summarized tally of all the times ‘Douglas Fargo ‘inappropriately pushed a button’. Red Flag.” Jack said. “And I see him eyeballing every button he comes across. He even hits the one on the elevator like he's savoring it.”

“That will do it.” Henry laughed and picked up the T-bone steak he was supposed to be enthralled with and smiled. Putnam insisted they cook it for the photo and Zoe let him. “I guess we’re eating pretty soon after this photo shoot is over or someone wants chilled steak.”

“So, Putnam.” Jack asked. “What exactly are we going for here? Is there some kind of symbolism in the Floating Fargo and Zoe playing with a hovercraft serving platter? Or Henry dangling a T-Bone off the wrong end of a knife? Why does Nathan have to be lounging on the outskirts, he likes to cook?”

“Sheriff, I simply can not explain my vision at this time.”

“Oh, OK.” Jack said and kinda hoped Zoe wouldn’t be dating this kid too much longer. He had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to be the one stuck with the microwaved steak staged prop. He also didn't like that Nathan was purposely placed on the other side of the photo from him. Knowing what he knew about Putnam, there was a reason for that. Probably because he had watched them fight on EurekaTV and whined to Zoe about the cinematography. 

“A assure you, it’s necessary to combat the negativity surrounded the Fudgey the Whale incident of earlier this week.” Putnam replied and went over to his camera to check his setup.

Jack still didn’t know what the hell that was about and at this point he didn’t want to admit he didn’t know. He looked at Henry’s steak. “Is that whale meat?”

“ _Dad_ !” Zoe hollered. “ _Why_ would you say that? That’s so heartless!”

“Of all the things I’ve said, _that_ is what you find offensive?” Jack said and looked at her.

“Sheriff! Please refrain from moving.” Putnam said, exacerbated. 

“Then you should hurry up and take the picture because it takes a lot of calories to move as much as I do and this steak smells delicious. So can we get this over with? I'm hungry and so are my very tolerant guests.” Jack said with a forced smile.

“I really need you in your uniform, Sheriff.” Putnam said with a heavy sigh as he stepped aside from the camera and just could not _feel_ the image he was trying to capture.

Jack rolled his eyes. Enough was enough, “Look…”

“I’ll just have to Photoshop it in later.” Putnam said thoughtfully. "Everyone smile, except for Fargo and Deputy Lupo. Please look into the distance like you are trying to avoid the coming thing, the lurking danger on the perimeter. Dr. Stark, continue looking surprised you allowed me to convince you to do this."

Jack smiled but definitely held the burger flipper a little more menacingly than he should and probably looked like he was going to start slapping the kid with it if he didn’t hurry the hell up with this. He really hoped Zoe was over this kid fast.

“OK. That I can work with. Thank you all for your cooperation.” Putnam said and immediately began breaking down his photo equipment.

Jack looked down at the steaks and said, “I guess we have permission to eat?”

Henry laughed as Allison left to go to Kevin’s side as he doodled in his journal at the picnic table. “Is this how you pictured this going?”

“I guess as far as pictures go, I should be happy Nathan’s still got clothes on.” Jack said and flipped the steaks and watched Zoe put the hover platter thing away and start asking for help getting the rest of the food out, Allison and Kevin agreed and they disappeared into the house. Jo was stuck with Fargo as he plead with her not not just stab the bubble and pop it. Nathan took longer than he should to get out of his chair. He was playing with the straw in his drink, lost in thought.

“Nathan vetoed the pool session.” Henry informed him.

“That explains it.” Jack said and put a few steaks on the plate Henry was holding and then put on a few more on the grill. “So, Kim couldn’t make it?”

“Kim's going to be a little late.". Henry said as he sat the plate down at the table and helped himself to the garlic button mushrooms Fargo brought, before returning with an empty plate. "She was working on her new project this morning."

Nathan quirked an eyebrow. Kim was working on the Artifact and he was curious how much Henry knew. Or rather how much she shared with him. Allison had shared with him a sketch Kevin just made of the Artifact and a pair of shadow figures. It was as if it was from the Artifact's perspective and he recognized the observation chamber window. He also recognized himself, staining in the room while someone stood in the chamber at a console. Ally assumed she was the one running tests, that he was watching over them and Kevin was looking at them from bed or out of an MRI machine. He knew better. He wanted to tell Jack and Henry, but he didn't know enough. He only know that it could be dangerous and he wanted them safe until he knew more. Kevin, however, seemed to be pushing him to find those answers faster than he wanted.

"She found somewhere to live?". Jack asked.

"Yes. Sheriff Cobb's old house was just repaired from the wormhole incident." Henry replied.

"Well. How _interesting_. How _convenient_ that wasn't available on Monday." Jack said and looked over at Nathan who was just now getting out of his chair, but only because Jo was having a hard time wrangling Bubble Fargo back down to the grass and he didn’t want to be the cushion Fargo landed on when she stabbed the bubble.

Nathan smiled at him. "I ordered it repaired in case you didn't like the bunker. Who knew you would have such an interest in 'wormholing' that you may have actually been happy with Cobb's place _as is_."

"Everything worked out.". Jack said with a shrug. It was all working out. He gave his husband a smile and that lured Nathan over to him as he threw the oven mitt off. Then he heard a pop and a scream as JO finally just got fed up with Fargo and freed him from the bubble. He landed, face first, in the grass.

"And here is that photo I promise you of Nathan during his college days." Henry said and took a picture out of his shirt pocket.

"Oh, yes.". Jack said and lunged for it and his own younger days of playing baseball really gave him the edge over Nathan. Nathan attempted to use his longer limbs to grab the picture, but Jack hip checked him and held the photo at arms length. He looked at the picture and saw a skinny kid with long hair, scruffy cheeks and a scowl. " _Oh no._ "

"See. I was the nerd and you were the jock." Nathan said as Jack stood upright and studied the photo to see if it was really him. "I bet you look better in your baseball uniform."

"Did you live in the lab?" jack asked and smiled as this picture of Nathan's past helped him fill in some of the unknown information he was desperately trying not to look up. 

"Pretty much.". Henry recalled. "He did go home to shower and change but would come right back."

"Wow."

"Happy?". Nathan asked.

"I want more.". Jack said, immediately.

"Not until you share.". Nathan said and shrugged. "Equivalent exchange."

"That stuff is buried in those boxes in the garage. Hell, I didn't even unpack them after Abby and I bought the house. They stayed in the box when I moved out. They haven't seen daylight in years."

"Online?" Nathan asked, curiously.

"Only records of me are on leaderboards.". Jack smirked. "Nathan, I've been pretty careful what goes online because of my job. Guess if you want to see my pictures, you'll have to help me unpack."

“We still have a bit more to unpack before we can get to the physical boxes.” Nathan said and put his arm around him and pulled him against his chest to kiss him on the temple. 

“You just want me to keep wearing the shirts you bought for me.” Jack smirked and flipped the steaks as Nathan held him close. This was good, this felt damned good. It felt right. 

“Might have to wear some of them into the pool later as Putnam seems to have some kind of ‘vision’ about a photo for our marriage announcement.”

“Why do we need to announce things?” Jack asked then laughed. “I'd think the small town word of mouth and also the TV Show were enough to broadcast that.”

“Some of our researchers are not interested in current events, hijacked surveillance footage or social announcements. They’re not interested in being social, period. A lot of people only care for their work and prefer to receive updates via the town meetings or newspaper. Some, won't even notice if the world ended.” Nathan informed him.

“Town meeting, I do need to get the two of you to do that announcement, by the way.” Henry said. “Tomorrow, preferably. Before the next end of the world.”

“We’re already married, it’s not like 'ye olde tyme engagement announcement' in the paper is needed so that someone can lay claim to you. Or a town meeting or PTA meeting or...can we just eat meat?” Jack pulled the steaks off the grill and placed them on Henry’s waiting plate. “This wasn’t supposed to be a publicity stunt.”

“I swear, I just walked into this the same way you did.” Nathan said as Henry grinned and took the steaks to the table to get this meal started. It gave him a second to have Jack to himself. 

“I know. It just seems like our time gets hijacked a lot.” Jack shrugged. “I talked to Abby, so that's no longer on my plate.”

“Then let’s get you a plate and enjoy the afternoon. I’ll scare Putnam off if you don’t want to do the photos.”

“No, you love to take pictures and it would be a good thing. I mean, we really didn’t tell too many people we got married and an announcement would be cool. I could send something to my parents and my sister. They’ve yet to see you outside of a few images they googled of you getting your Nobel or the pictures of expert witness Dr. Stark from the newspaper's articles on the trial. So , yeah, let’s do the traditional announcement thing.”

“Great.”

They walked together to the picnic table where everyone was sitting down and helping themselves to food. “I really didn’t think Eureka would have a newspaper, seems so old school?” 

“It’s digital.”

“Oh good, S.A.R.A.H. can have another photo of you to ogle or update her hologram collection.”

“Expect lots of photo edits and manipulations.” Nathan cautioned. 

“Of me, you mean.” Jack said and Nathan said nothing. Yeah, of course. “Let’s eat.”


	54. Gonna Take Some Time To Do The Things We Never Had

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 54

**Gonna Take Some Time To Do The Things We Never Had**

* * *

“Everything is cleaned up, dishes done and put away, and I even gave scraps to the dog.” Zoe announced and pet Lo-Jack as he stretched out on the patio and enjoyed sitting around the fire pit with the family. 

Nathan was sitting comfortably in his lawn chair and wasn’t too eager to get out of it. Today was a pretty long day for a ‘day of relaxation’. He looked at the mutt getting his belly rubbed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t even know how he got in here. The perimeter is designed to keep wildlife and life, period, out.”

“He’s a smart boy.” Zoe said and scratched Lo-Jack behind the ears. She looked up as her Dad came out on the patio after his shower, the pool photo shoot had somehow ended up with Nathan jumping in the pool and her Dad in there with him. Putnam seemed to be extra excited about the results and she was just honestly excited he and Nathan were having fun with each other. She worried about Nathan’s suit surviving the dip into chlorine but he waved it off as a non-concern. Her Dad never liked the smell of chlorine much so he was pretty insistent about washing it off while they had a real shower.

“Taggart says he’s got an IQ of 130.” Nathan said.

"Who me?" Jack asked and Nathan started laughing. So much for the love and support.

“Oh Good, even the dog got his IQ test before me.” Zoe said.

“I took an IQ test in high school.” Jack said and came over and put his hands on Nathan’s shoulders and gently rubbed them as he sat in the chair. “111. Even got over a hundred!”

Nathan grimaced and Zoe looked at him mortified. “You don’t do well with tests, do you Jack?”

“I lose patience with them.” Jack admitted. 

“But not chess?” Nathan relaxed into the shoulder rub and realized he was holding a lot of tension there. 

“No, there are a lot of possibilities to consider.” Jack kneaded the muscles in his shoulders gently. “Tests are one question after another and unending. Like an interrogation, but I'm being subjected to it instead of being the one to ask the questions. I remember that IQ test was okay for a little while and then the anagrams one just didn’t end and I kinda half-assed it after that.”

Nathan sighed, mainly because Jack was doing wonders with his shoulders. This was going to put him to sleep if he wasn't careful. “We should get home. Especially if Zoe wants to take those tests and we need to talk to S.A.R.A.H.”

Zoe watched Lo-Jack get up and stretch, then wander off towards the pool. Clearly he was listening to what they were saying. She softly sang, “ _ The wild dogs cry out in the night… _ ”

“ _ As they grow restless, _ ” Jack sang, “ _ Longing for some solitary company. _ ”

“That’s enough.” Nathan said and felt a kiss on the top of his head from Jack. “You two got enough of my singing for one day.”

“We’re rationing  _ your singing _ ?” Jack snorted in amusement. “But not your sperm?”

“I need my voice to work.” Nathan grunted. 

“I need your sperm to not be working so hard for everyone else.”

Zoe's phone went off with another text message and  reached out to turn the firepit off. “Did you want me to turn off the fire so we can head home? S.A.R.AH.’s kinda getting paranoid about overstepping her boundaries and if we start this discussion again we’ll end up sleeping here.”

“Wait.” Jack said as he ran his hands through Nathan’s hair. 

“S'mores?” Zoe asked. “Dad, nobody can eat anymore and S.A.R.A.H. is already going to have a fit about that fatty steak you just ate.”

“No. Before we go I have one more thing I want to do.” Jack said and tilted Nathan’s head back so he could look in his eyes. “Go get those divorce papers. We’re going to burn them.”

“Oh..ok.” Nathan said, completely caught off guard by that.

“They don’t need to exist anymore.” Jack said . “I’m not saying that if things can’t work out that we’re locked into this forever, but when I had those drawn up I was...well I wasn’t willing to work on things. Things were different, we were different. They don’t need to be in the picture _at all_.”

Nathan nodded and he received a kiss on the bridge of his nose. He stood up and ran his hand over Jack’s arm as he walked past him and into the house. He understood what he was saying, Putnam’s backyard photo was definitely staged to show a division between town and authority of GD, with optimistic Zoe being the link between the worlds and Fargo being the lurking danger in the atmosphere.  The next set of pictures were taken in the pool after everyone left, he changed into suit for those. Then he shocked Jack, and himself, when he jumped in the pool fully dressed and potentially ruining his suit. It was about shattering the image he had created of himself and embracing the moment, it was about embracing the chaos and impulsiveness of Jack Carter. It might have also been a clear image for everyone that Jack, and Jack alone, was the one who got him wet. Jack’s smile had been priceless and he was excited to see those photos when Putnam was done with them. They definitely were not in the same place they were a week ago and he truly appreciated Jack's gesture of destroying the one thing hanging over them.

Nathan went into the house and Jack walked over to his daughter who was looking at him like he finally made her proud today.. “I talked to your Mom, just wanted to let you know.”

“I’m sorry if I screwed things up by mentioning Callister Raynes. S.A.R.A.H. and I were talking about solutions and she mentioned him as being a computer programmer capable of the task. I was really just trying to help.”

“I know.” Jack said and added. “It was a little unexpected but it’s going to work out. I guess I should stop being surprised by your investigative abilities and problem solving skills.”

“Why does it sound like you and Mom talked about more than just custody?”

“Well, it’s your Mom.” Jack said and put his hands in his jean pockets. “I just want you to know that you don’t have to do things on your own anymore. I know it sounds like crap coming from me, but I see you’ve grown up and want to be taken seriously so you can talk to us. I mean, I’m thrilled you and Nathan are able to speak the same language and he doesn’t look at you like you’re a kid….but you’re still my little girl and it’s hard for me to see how grown up you are. It’s hard because I missed out on so much and you had to go to such extreme lengths to get my attention. So...I just want to say I’m here too. I’ll try to not overreact. I’ll try to, well, we're..”

“Gonna  take some time to do the things we never had?” She asked right as Nathan walked back out of the house.

“Yes.” Jack said amused that she was going to start quoting Toto now. Nathan was probably going to get sick of them soon.

“ _ Ooh ooh. _ ” Nathan sang as he came out to Jack and handed him the folder with the divorce papers in them. jack's face lit up, apparently he was expecting him to yell.

“Promise me you’ll make that your song. That when you have a wedding, your first dance is to it. Promise me.” Zoe said as she stood up.

“No.” Nathan whined.

“Yes.” Jack replied and took the envelope. “You can plan the damned wedding, that is the only thing I want. That song, sung by you...to me.”

“Fine.” Nathan said. “Maybe I should refrain from singing it until that day you see me at the altar? Just to not wear it out?”

“No.” Jack laughed. “It’s our song now, as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti.”

“God.” Nathan huffed. "Of all the damned songs you could have latched on to...."

“Ok, in all seriousness,” Jack held up the envelope and said. “It’s going to take a lot to drag me away from you.”

Nathan was about to roll his eyes but he watched the envelope land in the firepit and start to catch fire. 

“We do things right this time. I can’t erase what I’ve done, I can’t burn up all my mistakes or things I’ve said, but...this is a start. A fresh start for all of us.” Jack said and Nathan put his arm around him. 

Zoe wiped away a tear and watched the papers burn up. They really did love each other a lot. She told Putnam that those pictures in the pool were not to be circulated unless they were the ones who did it. He was disappointed as they were perfect for some art gallery he was putting together, but he understood. He said that he had not seen such genuine emotion and spontaneity in a while and was going to have to go home and reassess how he was producing art. She didn’t quite get that until now, and she was really honored to be included in this. 

“OK, I think they’re burned enough.” Jack said and reached out with his foot to click off the fake fire pit. It was time to get home, because he really really wanted to spend some time with Nathan tonight that wasn’t talking about their problems or Eureka’s problems, just laying there and being beside him. Laying there and maybe convincing himself he actually deserved him.

* * *

" _Welcome home , family!_ "

"Sarah, we need to establish some house rules." Jack said as they came in and Zoe put some leftovers in the fridge. Nathan was going for the liquor cabinet, looking for a nightcap. 

" _Oh_ "

  
"S.A.R.A.H." Nathan said as he got out a glass for himself and the fridge immediately started dispensing beer for Jack. "We just need to dial back your independent action a little and reassess your permissions."

"That sounds like detention." Zoe said as Nathan went over to his bag, got out his tablet and began tapping on it. "Nathan, don't take this out on her!"

"I'm not." Nathan said and handed her his tablet. "It's access to your tests. Use my tablet, I logged in as a diagnostic admin so you can only access the tests and once you log out the results will be gone. "

Zoe took the tablet. It was like being handed the Holy Grail in Eureka, the kids at school would flip out when she told them she was allowed to use Nathan's tablet. "Wow, thanks."

" _What about me, Dr. Stark?_ "

"You just need to keep working on what we talked about and please stop working behind our backs." Nathan said and went back to his Scotch. 

"Yeah, and let us work on our relationship." Jack said. "That's all I'm asking, is that you just let us figure shit out on our own."

"Hey, great time for me to remind you I need to figure out my life on my own." Zoe said and raised the tablet and waved as she went up the stairs. "Goodnight!"

"And I realize it's kind of hard to not interfere. We appreciate it, but we got this." Jack sighed and took a sip of beer. Then he smiled at Nathan and said, “Here’s to us.”

Nathan watched Jack raise his beer bottle in a toast and apparently expected to clink it against his Scotch glass. Oh, how different they were in tastes. “For surviving a barbecue?”

“For making it through the week.” Jack said and clinked his bottle against Nathan’s and drank. “Last Sunday I spent the entire day in a rental car driving up Route 5 and was checking into a hotel in Medford at this time. I had to drive into Eureka in the morning to start my new job, a job I didn’t ask for. I didn’t have a house, I didn’t have a car, or anything but the clothes in my duffel bag and I didn’t have my career anymore. I felt like the world was ending, like everything I had worked for was dissolving right in front of my eyes. I started my job, knowing I wasn’t going to have a place to stay other than my own jail cell. I didn’t have a partner who trusted me, I sure as hell didn’t think I was going to see my husband again or see my kid so soon. I started off Monday, alone.”

Nathan leaned on the counter with one hand and drink in the other. He hated that Jack felt that way,  _ ever. _

“Now, a week later, I have you and I’m not letting you go. I also have four kids and two houses and possibly a dog. I just offered an olive branch to my ex-wife to try to include her in my life again.  _ One _ week.”

“ _ Four _ kids?” Nathan smiled and took a drink. 

“S.A.R.A.H. might be a Fargo, but she’s our foreign exchange student from the land of Fargo where they apparently worship you as a God.” Jack informed him. “So, considering that is just one week, you can see why I am even more concerned about your sperm being  _ everywhere _ .”

“Not a single sperm was used in making any of those kids.” Nathan said.

“Except mine.” 

“And she’s definitely your daughter.”

“So we really can't see how she's doing with those tests?” Jack asked a little nervous his shit test taking skills passed on to her.

“Nope.” Nathan said. “I gave her access and left it up to her to tell us the results. Same with S.A.R.A.H. and her mission to find Callister. Same with Kevin and the work I've done with him. How I work, is how I parent. I don't want to do the work for them, that helps no one.”

“You...aren’t going to get the results?” Jack asked. Certainly there was a report?

“Nah.” He said and shrugged. “They’re not for us.”

“So...why is she after your job?” Jack asked the lingering question of the day.

“I guess she thinks she can do it better than me?” Nathan winked at him. “Wonder where she got that idea from.”

“I don’t tell you how to do your job.”

“That’s an amusing idea, that you think that.” Nathan countered. “It’s wrong. But a cute idea. Probably going to be the theme for the week as I do have to start looking at places to cut costs now that we have a new budget to adjust to.”

“Do it the beginning of the week so we still have our weekend.” Jack said. “I won’t do well with Abby if she thinks I’m putting my job above my family again, even if it’s super important. You won't do well with Abby if she starts shit with me.”

“So it’s OK for me to scare people into _not_ causing problems, then?”

“This week only.”

“Does this mean..I can scare Abby into not causing problems?”

“No.” Jack said. “This is not what I said.”

“It is exactly what you said.” Nathan laughed. "S.A.R.A.H., play back the recording of..."

Jack shut him up by kissing him and then pulled him close, the polo he was wearing had way more give than his usual dress shirts. “I need you to behave. With Abby.”

“Why?” Nathan asked. “I am not going to sit idly by and…”

“I asked her to help me.” Jack said and Nathan looked confused. “I asked her to be my shrink because I got a lot to work through and you’ve already had to bear the brunt of it. Her perspective...helped.”

“Alright, I’ll be good.” Nathan said and kissed Jack on the lips. “Let’s go to bed? I've had enough with rules and regulations already this week, I'd like to just enjoy the one thing I know I'm supposed to do...which is you.”

The lights blinked a little and S.A.R.A.H made a little squeal sound that could have been mistaken for the compressor in the fridge going bad. "That sounds great. You are kinda tense."

"Any leftovers you want to grab before we go to bed?" Nathan asked, teasingly.

"No, I plan to _shuck_ without any side dishes tonight." Jack smirked. "Though, I wouldn't complain about some massage oil. You need a good massage and I owe you one from last night when you saved my dick from a tentacle."

"You'll put me to sleep."

"Not with what I plan to massage."

"I'll take a shower and bring that with me. Please don't be wearing _anything_ when I get to bed." Nathan said and heard a little music...S.A.R.A.H. was playing Africa again. His life was going to have background music no matter now much he threatened the house.

" _Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you!_ " Jack sang softly and giggled as Nathan rolled his eyes and then he pulled away from him and went upstairs to get ready for bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Africa by Toto is now their theme song and has given me these wonderful titles to work with. It’s also playing in my head nonstop. Ooh ooh.
> 
> Next episode is going to be Blink, as I realized things were out of order when I rewatched Invincible and it just makes more sense if it’s shuffled in earlier. Which is even more exciting because I am stoked about this episode and the Jack/Nathan moments.


	55. Start Off With A Bang!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus starts the next episode: Blink.
> 
> Which will also be tweaked a little to suit my needs. It's Monday in Eureka, a new week to see how Jack and Nathan handle working together. ;)
> 
> Chapter 55. 55 straight days of this fic updating. Damn. Who knew I had that in me?

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 55

**Start Off With A Bang!**   
  


* * *

Nathan drank his coffee as he scanned through his morning emails and the calendar reminders on his tablet. He was going to have to schedule two appointments with Beverly, see where Milton and Fargo's teams were on the anti-missile shield array at 9am, review the A.I. divisions advancements in case S.A.R.A.H. managed to bring in Callister, check on the Methylphenidate Hydrochloride trial and start pulling in project leaders who didn’t produce as promised. Then would come redactions and he was sure Ally didn’t brief Jack on his role in those.

That first one on his hit list was Carl Carlson, but he would push that until next week since he wanted to keep Jack in a good mood for at least one whole week. He was more than aware that this morning would be the one week anniversary of Jack screaming at him in GD and demanding divorce papers be signed. He hoped to get past that 10 am not-so-great anniversary without Jack getting pissed at him. Escorting Carlson out of town would be a hot mess and tons of guilt. He also seemed like the kind of stray that Jack would eventually warm up to and he already had Lo-Jack eating scraps on the patio and didn’t need someone else showing up. Especially since they had a ‘free house’ at the moment and Jack would be inclined to offer it to someone, other than his ex-wife, if the need arose, and he definitely did not want Abby staying with them here. “I’m heading in early, I have a meeting at 9.”

“So you need to leave  _ at 6 _ ?” Jack asked and sipped his coffee. “Are you planning to walk to work?”

“I do have work that needs to be done prior to that meeting.” Nathan informed him and went to his note section on his calendar titled 'things Jack needed to do that would not get done'. “Don’t forget to ask Henry to look at your Jeep. Do you need a ride to work?”

“No, I’m going to drive it until it’s a problem. It’s just a transfer case, I’ll keep playing with it until it disengages or breaks.”

“Riiiight.” Nathan said and rolled his eyes. “That won't bite you in the ass at an inconvenient time."

“Are we talking about the Jeep or you?” Jack said and kissed his cheek. “Because one of these days I’m going to have to explain some teeth marks on my body and I’m going to convince this town you’re a vampire.”

“Not a vampire.” Nathan chirped. “But you’re a tease.”

“So you  _ bite me _ ?”

“You never listen to me when you’re concentrating on a task.” Nathan reminded him. “And you _like it_.”

“OK, fair enough.” Jack said and put his coffee down to rub his tender nipple that might just need a skin graft. “So, I won’t see you at the town meeting?”

“Nope. You’re on your own. Remember the town's your jurisdiction anyway. Try not to embarrass Zoe.” Nathan said and continued to rearrange his agenda for the day. He’d have to anticipate Ally coming to him and asking about the drug trial, even though he only put Kevin into it a few days ago. She whined about him and his work, but when it came to Kevin she expected him to ignore the fact it was a double-blind study and share the information with her. He might also have to distract her from her need to get Jack’s physical done in order to complete his new hire paperwork, he really didn’t need her and Jack comparing notes on his tendency to nip harder than he realized when over-aroused. 

“That’s my job.” Jack said cheerily as his kid came down the stairs. “Right?”

“Yeah, you’re really good at that.” Zoe said and scanned the table to see if someone’s coffee cup was left unattended but no such luck. Then she looked at his bright smile and rolled her eyes. “ Please turn down that glow before we go to this town meeting. Let’s not start our day with  _ that _ broadcast?”

“I’m not….glowing.” Jack said and hid behind his coffee cup. “I’m naturally radiant.”

“As much as I’d love to stay and banter, I do need to get to work. Try to stay out of trouble. Good luck on your gun test.” Nathan said and kissed Jack, patted Zoe on the shoulder as she sat down for breakfast and grabbed his things off the chair and headed for the door while checking for his keys. His agenda was overloaded already and he didn't even schedule time with the Artifact team to check on progress. He needed to figure out what Kevin's connection was to that damned thing and do it fast. “S.A.R.A.H., door.”

Jack watched him leave and sipped his coffee. “I bet he is secretly working out somewhere and doesn’t want me to find out.”

_ “It’s not much of a secret, Sheriff. Dr. Stark routinely visits the Eureka Gym at lunch. It’s why so many people dine outside at Cafe Diem, so they can enjoy the show.” _

“They’re a Gym?” Jack asked. “ _ By my office _ ?”

“Oh my God, Dad.” Zoe said and shook her head and reached for Nathan’s abandoned coffee cup. “Some detective you are.”

Jack grabbed the cup as she tried to slide it over to her. “It’s been a busy week.”

“Not _that_ busy.” She said. 

“Speaking of busy, you look like you were up all night.” Jack said and leaned on the counter. “I thought you got your homework done Saturday night. Or at least that’s what you said at the barbecue.”

“It’s not the homework, it was that test.” She said. “Well, tests. They took forever.”

“Yeah.” Jack played with Nathan’s cup. “They aim to tire you out. That’s why I hate them.”

“Well, the IQ test and the Aptitude test weren’t bad. They were kinda fun, actually. It was the others that I really wasn’t expecting.”

“Others?” Jack asked.

“One of them looked like the SAT, another like an entrance exam to either a prestigious university or a competitive corporation.” She shrugged. “College prep stuff I assume. Simulations, let’s leave it at that.”

“I didn’t know he was giving you those.” Jack said and wished he was more in the loop on stuff like this, but he’d be a hypocrite to require that of Nathan when he never checked in with Abby much. Nathan seemed to have that drive and focus on education and he just didn’t know about these special schools. 

“They were optional, Dad.” She reminded him. “And so is my choice to tell you how I did.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jack picked up Nathan’s cup and looked into the black coffee remaining in it. He must have left it for Zoe because he was wrapped around her little finger and would have put it in the sink if he was actually done with it. He was definitely going to have to find out about that whale mishap and how Fargo’s coffee played into it. “Does it help? The test results?”

“I’m still processing. It helps. It’s nice to know where I stand before the pressure is on to take them and everyone is asking for my results.” She said and realized she was going to have to tell him about the driver’s exam eventually. He’d freak out if she asked him to take her for her learner’s permit, so maybe she’d just ask her Mom. Mom had her birth certificate anyway, but Mom was also in another state. “Listen, Dad….”

Jack put the cup down as his phone rang.  _ Of course _ . Always interrupting something, there _had_ to be a device for that. A plot device. He turned to look at Zoe and smiled apologetically and showed her the caller ID. It was Jo. It was probably a 9-1-1 call. “Sorry Zo…”

“Dad, I’m still processing it all. It’s OK.” She said. She was too nervous to ask about the permit anyway, knowing he’d say no. She needed Nathan as backup and he was already off to work. Damn. She really should have taken advantage of that glow when she had the chance!

Jack flipped his phone open and said, “Go for Carter.”

_ "Stark got into an accident. He's fine, car's not." _

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head. He could hear Nathan yelling in the background asking who she was calling. Of course Nathan didn’t want him to know. "Let me guess, speeding? Perhaps while on the phone?"

_ "I told you not to call him!" _

_ "I don't work for you. I work for him. Back off or you start this week like you ended last-- face down on the pavement." _

_ “You mean when I was demanding to know why you were kidnapped a Congressman!” _

_ “Well, you wanted to kill me for it. Karma’s a bitch.” _

"Yeah, he sounds OK. Where are you?" Jack asked. He knew this day was coming, Nathan probably smashed up a deer on his way to setting a new land-speed record.

_ "Old Post road. Can't miss us. Henry's on the way. _ "

"Yeah, so am I." Jack said and hung up and shook his head. “Nathan just got into an accident.”

“How?” Zoe asked. “He just left.”

Jack looked at her. “I might have lost some memories and time last week, and I may not have a Noble prize in math, but I do know the answer was speeding. The question being, if a BMW is travelling at warp speed from 3 Cornelius Loop on it’s way to GD and collides with innocent wildlife on the way, then what mood do you think the Director of Global Dynamics will be in when the Sheriff arrives on scene?”

“Yeah, he really does drive fast. I can see him getting to Old Post Road that quick.” Zoe said and drank some of her Dad’s coffee while he was buttoning up his work shirt and getting his gun belt. “How was Jo there that fast though?”

“Something tactical, I’m sure.” Jack said. “I know what you’re thinking and this is coincidence is nothing more than that. We are not starting our week with a science SNAFU at 6 am in the morning on Monday. It’s Occam’s Razor, that’s all.”

“Wow, Dad. I’m impressed.”

“I learn things.” Jack said and grabbed the cup out her hand as she casually drank from it. Like how his daughter was already a caffeine addict. “Get dressed, we gotta pick up your Step-Dad and he’s going to be even happier about the 4x4 being locked up now that he’s ‘late’ for being 2 hours early to work.”

  
  
Zoe looked down at what she was wearing. She  _ was _ dressed. Oh well, she still needed her book bag so she ran upstairs while her Dad was getting his gun out of his safe.


	56. An Immovable Force meets an Unstoppable Object

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 56

**An Immovable Force meets an Unstoppable Object**

* * *

  
  


“You  _ wrecked _ your car.” Jack said with a little too much amusement for the situation as he looking at the BMW current leaking antifreeze on the side of the road. The wheel was tilted at a very bad angle and the hood crumpled. The tree it hit looked pretty good, but he remembered they were designed to not break when UFO’s hit them, per Henry. Nathan’s little black car going warp speed must have been the UFO they were worried about. “You OK?”

“I did not wreck it and I am fine.”

Jack put his hands in his pockets and walked around the front of the car and looked at Jo who had been out jogging from the looks of her clothes. Jogging with a knife and sidearm, cause that was the commando way. “I’m pretty sure it’s totalled.”

“I mean, I did not cause this.” Nathan said and could tell Jack was not going to believe him.

“Oh. So you’re going to place the blame on something other than your lead foot?” Jack asked and could see Nathan was going to do just that.

“Look around.” Nathan said angrily. “Do you see anything that I hit?”

Jack stretched his arm out and pointed at the victim. “ _The tree_?”

“I was driving eastbound and something hit me, sending the car off the road.” Nathan repeated the statement he gave Lupo. "He pointed in the dent on the front panel above the wheel well. "Probably clipped me there."

“You’re pretty confrontational for a guy who is a victim of an incredible discovery here on Old Post Road...of some car smashing device. A Beemer Boomerang?” Jack said and watched Jo go over to his car, open the back seat and get out his ticket book. He was glad she didn’t whip out her own book because that would be some level of dedication to her job that even he couldn’t manage. “Oh, did you find the invisibiling device? Is that what did this?” 

“I didn’t hit anything. It hit me.” Nathan repeated. “Glad you’re not only a supportive husband but an outstanding interviewer.”

Jack waved at the car. Oh Nathan was just _so bitchy_ when he woke up earlier than normal and didn't get to start his day on time. “OK, does the car continue to crumble up and fit in your pocket? Can I see that before my Deputy hands you a ticket for failure to control?”

Nathan glared at him. “Having fun are you?”

Jack laughed. “Not often I get to tell you you’re an idiot and ‘I told you so’.”

Nathan ground his teeth as Henry pulled up with his tow truck. “Why won’t you believe me?”

“Because,  _ I have eyes _ ?” Jack said and waved at the car. Then he spun around with his arms open to indicate there was absolutely nothing out of place to point to a ‘something’ that was hit. “And there is nothing, _nobody here_ , to indicate this was a collision. No tire marks, blood or tree damage.”

“I’ll call GD and start my own investigation.”

“Oh my God, just admit you lost control because you were driving too fast and pay your ticket.” Jack said and handed Nathan the ticket Jo finished writing. “Why is that so hard?”

“I’m not signing or paying this.” Nathan said and took the ticket, crumpled it and threw it in his crumbled car. Jo looked like she was about to crumble him up and toss him in there to fetch it. “It would be an admission of guilt and I’m not guilty.”

Jack looked at the car, then back at him. “You were driving, right? Or does the car drive itself now?”

“I want you to believe me.” Nathan said.

“I'd love to... _but how_!?” 

“Because this is Eureka!” Nathan screamed at him. “You believed some absolutely ridiculous shit last week and you’re not even a scientist!”

“I’m the Sheriff so...I gotta look at this and say my Deputy is making the right call.” Jack said and Nathan went over to get his things out of his car as Henry went to hook it up and pull it on the wrecker. Jo handed him his ticket book before she slapped the shit out of Nathan with it. He couldn’t blame her, he was being over-the-top this morning. 

"Thanks.” Jo said and backed away and started to jog in place, “If you got this, I got to get home and shower so I can be at work on time."

Jack heard Nathan scream in the car, something about not having time for this and no wonder Jason Anderson wiped his memory for a routine traffic stop. Jack rolled his eyes.  _ So dramatic. _ “I’ll give you a ride to work, Nathan. I'll see you at work, Jo.”

“Look beyond what is in front of you and tell me what I hit! Nothing is here!.” Nathan said and slammed the car door, only for the windshield to shatter. “Reverse Occam's Razor! Your guiding principle and the mission statement of the new Sheriff’s Department. ”

“Wow.” Jack said and laughed. “You’re pulling the ‘GD is always at fault’ card? Because you got caught speeding!?”

“You should believe me.”

“You keep saying that, but in order to believe you I have to ignore reality and experience. I do believe you have a head injury, some trauma of some kind. Maybe because you got in a car accident? Because you lost control while going too fast and you were probably were on your phone or tablet while driving? No way science made this happen, other than basic physics of a force hitting an immovable object. God, I understand how physics feels right now, I’m the unstoppable force and you’re the immovable object, and you want to rewrite the laws so you’re right.”

“You want to do science,  _ good _ .” Nathan said sharply. “I’ll prove it.”

“Please do. I’m sure the insurance company would love to know how you did this. Not everyday someone sends a research paper in with their insurance claim.” Jack said. “However, you need to get in the Jeep and let me take you to the infirmary to get checked out after we drop off Zoe at school.”

“ _ Fine _ .”

“Ok.” Jack said and knew that sound of ‘fine’ that and indicated that everything was not, in fact, fine. He threw up his hands in admission of defeat. “How am I in the wrong here!?”

"You're supposed to listen to me."

"It's hard not to, you've been yelling since I got here."

Jack got in the car after watching Zoe crawl in the back seat. Nathan got in the passenger side and said nothing. Super start to the week, glad they got up early for this.

"Guess driving lessons are cancelled." Zoe mumbled.

Jack laughed and started the car.

"I'll get a car from Global." Nathan said and waved it off. "You worry about your learner's permit."

"Cool." Zoe said and smiled to herself. Well, that was easy.

"Wait. What?!" Jack said. "You're serious?"

"He's been helping me study for most of the week, Dad. It was your idea."

“What?”

"Remember you told me to do well in school?"

"Yeah…"

"Driver's Ed  _ is _ a class."

Nathan looked at him as he digested that and waited for the inevitable.

"You didn't want to tell me that?" Jack asked that question to Nathan.

"She asked me not to because you overreact and think my driving is shit." Nathan said and watched Jack twitch.

"Evidence!". Jack said and pointed to the BMW. " _ Right there _ !"

“She passed the drivers exam and will be getting her learner's permit.” Nathan said. “Already processing.”

"Why wouldn't you tell me you're teaching my daughter how to drive?" Jack asked and turned to look at Zoe. “Was that some of the ‘other tests’ you took?”

"I didn't want to learn from you.". Zoe admitted. "You're so judgy."

"I'm a cop! It's my job to catch people breaking traffic laws!"

"Exactly." She said.

" _What?_ " Jack said. 

"Can you drive, please? I'm going to be late for school and you have to go to that town meeting." Zoe said and went back to texting on her phone.

"And I'm already late to work. " Nathan said and opened up his tablet to start adjusting his schedule.

"Fine" Jack said and he definitely was not fine. They drove in silence to town and Jack wondered how this day got off to such a bad start and why he was the bad guy in all this. What a great start to the week.


	57. Supportive Articles

_Dissolved_

Chapter 57

**Supportive Articles**

* * *

Nathan realized he might be a little stressed out by trying to cram his workload into a typical five day work week instead of his usual acceptance of being at GD 7 days a week. He might have also overestimated his ability to adapt to adding work hours at the beginning of the day to compensate for leaving in time for dinner with the family. He probably was a bit out of line at the scene of the accident, due to that stress, sleep deprivation, and adrenaline. Jack didn’t deserve any of that, but he didn’t deserve to be mocked either. So before he could think things through he asked, “So you’re not going to investigate the crime scene?”

“What crime?” Jack asked. "The one where you wake up early and take it out on everyone because you are not a morning person? Or the theoretical crime where I compromise my ethics to be the Sheriff in your back pocket when you want to get out of a ticket?" 

Well, he definitely meant to say ‘accident’ instead of ‘crime scene’ but his damned brain was making him pay for the decision to get up at 5 am. He slept well after Jack’s massage and other attention last night and really thought he could pull it off however, mornings sucked more when you got up before the sun. Jack knew it, Jack knew him. Which was why it bothered him so much because he should know he wouldn’t ask him to look into this unless there was a reason. “Obviously something is happening on Old Post Road and, historically, this is when you start looking for wormholes or ghosts. So why are you not listening to me when I tell you something  _ hit me? _ ”

“Nobody in this town does anything but think about hitting _on_ _you_. They wouldn’t dare jeopardize their careers by hurting you and most of them don’t want to risk your perfect brain or body.” Jack said and then snapped his fingers and pointed to him . "Occam's Razor. That's why. That’s my answer. If a car crashes in the woods, do we blame the driver or an invisible science device?"

"Wow. Really getting use out of that,aren't you, Dad?" Zoe said without looking up from her phone.

“You really are wearing that out.” Nathan agreed but then added, "An event happened and there is no explanation as to how. I may speed but I drive that speed,  _ always _ . That is my normal operating speed and I know how to handle that car. You might think it’s reckless, but I have never lost control or hit anyone. Your sole reason for condemning me is that I drive faster than you would like." 

"You drive faster than is _legal._ ” Jack corrected him. “So, under this theory of yours,  _ something hit you _ ? And you probably were driving so fast that the  _ something _ got launched into orbit. Is this what happened to the whale last week?"

"Go Sheriff it out. Traffic violations are your job." Nathan drawled and that tone of voice was enough to tell Jack that he wasn’t fighting with him, they were now onto healthy debate.

"Wow." Jack laughed. He really was pretty amused by Nathan's lack of argument at this point. "My job right now is to make sure you're not suffering from some kind of head trauma that makes you more angry than normal."

"It's called  _ you. _ " Nathan said and Jack reached over to rub his neck. It was tense and hurting, but that was probably from his stress and not whiplash. Could be Taggart’s tranquilizer dart too. Or all of the above. Didn’t matter, that’s what they made NSAIDs for.

"I can't ignore the rules or my job and show you personal preference. You’re not going to like how I do my job." Jack said with a smug smile as he paraphrased Nathan’s own words and threw them back at him. It earned him a glare. 

"I help you when I shouldn't." Nathan reminded him.

"You cause my problems, _ historically _ ." Jack said. "So are you admitting GD has a project that you think did this?"

"I was hit by something I couldn't see and can't be seen. Something crossing the road? " Nathan talked it out and couldn't point to a specific project. Unless the target drones had cloaking abilities and were flying low, but Dr. Edison would never jeopardize his precious drones by disabling their collision avoidance systems. He realized he didn’t have the time to investigate this, however, he didn't want his perfect driving record marred with a ticket. He prided himself on evasion of authorities, flirting his way out of tickets when stopped, excellent control of now trashed sports car, and having answers for everything. No. He would not taste defeat like this.

"So what? What project? Is it a ghost? A chicken? A ghost chicken trying to cross the road?" Jack asked. “If you’re being haunted again...”

"No. Ghosts do not exist. I’ll sign that ticket before I accept the ticket out of it by claiming ghosts attacked me." Nathan looked around as they made it into town. Ally's car was at Cafe Diem, so he pointed to Jack's spot outside the Sheriff's Department. "Park and I'll get a ride to work. You'll be late for the town meeting."

"Is Walter still locked up in Ghostbusters central? Did the Perkins family have a chicken?'' Jack asked as they parked in his spot outside his office. Nathan gave him a look that said that this line of questioning was borderline mocking and beginning to irritate him. “I'm trying to come up with theories which is more than you are doing. If you have this hypothesis, you need to at least come up with something to go on. I might make up words when I’m asking about something that ‘could never happen’ but at least I have a theory. What is your theory, Dr. Stark?”

“I can’t believe you’re demanding I give you science to back up my claim.” Nathan said and felt his anger vanish completely as he realized the role reversal. "And I'm the one making ludicrous claims with no evidence."

“I’m adapting to Eureka.” Jack said and Nathan put his hand on the door handle and opened it. "And you're making me proud by embracing your inner village idiot."

"Go to work." Nathan said and got out of the car. 

Jack got out of the car and realized Nathan was flagging down Allison as she came out of Cafe Diem with her Vinpresso. So he was going to bum a ride with the ex to get out of this conversation with him? Or get away from the 'ghost chicken crosses the road' jokes. Or get to work sooner. Probably that option. He smiled and hollered, "I'll pick you up later, sweetheart."

"I'm getting a loaner car" Nathan barked and marched across the street.

“I love you when you’re cranky, you know that.” Jack said and blew him a kiss. “Especially when you’re pissed because _ I’m right. _ ”

“You just haven’t been proven wrong yet.” Nathan shouted back as he went to Allison’s car and waited on her. Jack was already bounding across the street, bouncing as he walked, delighted by all this. Zoe was slowly getting out of the car, _so_ proud of her Dad antics. Jack came up to him and put his shoulder against his and chin on his shoulder. 

“See this is the part in the chess match where my opponent starts making stupid rushed moves just to try and make up for the mistake they made earlier in the game.” Jack whispered. “You won’t beat me if you’re being irrational.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this.” Nathan said, with calm he shouldn’t have for another ten minutes because of how unsympathetic Jack was being right now. But he loved that they could be like this, especially when Allison was unlocking her car and he knew she didn’t believe he was capable of fucking melting in the hand of a man who called him out on his shit and mocked him for it. 

“I am.” Jack waved as Allison opened her car door and she gave him a sympathetic smile, but he wasn’t at all upset by Nathan’s mood. He was adorable when he was throwing a tantrum like this. “Bye. Have a good day at work! Love you!”

Nathan got a kiss on the cheek and a slap on the ass as Jack jumped up onto the sidewalk over the curb and held the Cafe door for his daughter.

Zoe rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how he puts up with you.”

“So, driving lessons, huh?” Jack said as he waved again to Nathan as Allison pulled out of her parking spot. Oh, she was getting an earful already. Ha!

“He explains things mechanically and I want to learn to drive stick. You yell at every opportunity and your car is stuck in 4wd and it’s technically property of Eureka P.D.” Zoe said. “I asked for tutoring for the written exam since Oregon laws are not California laws. Did you know it’s illegal to pump your own gas here? I get why that’s a law in New Jersey, but Oregon hardly seems like somewhere that needs full service gas stations.”

“Well, now it has to wait until Nathan’s car is out of the shop or he gets a new one because the insurance company is just going to cut him a check. And no, we’re not getting it on salvage title so you can have a car. Last thing you need is something that can go Mach 1.” Jack said as they walked into the busy diner and found a seat. He was a little too energized to sit down. He sent a text to Allison asking her to check Nathan for injuries when they got to GD and told her he’d check in on him later for lunch. It was probably just the adrenaline that had him so insistent that he hit something, once that wore off he could be a little more supportive. One week after his arrival in Eureka and he wanted to commemorate how far he and Nathan came since last Monday, at the exact same time. So instead of going into GD and yelling at him, he was going to hopefully catch him in his office and see if he could get him to relax in the time honored tradition of a ‘please calm the fuck down and stop trying to schedule my life for me while you try to stop the world from ending’ blow job. Despite the yelling this morning, he loved that man, and he really wanted to make Eureka home and to do that he needed one more thing. “So, do you think that we can convince anyone around here to play a little baseball?”

“In this town?” She asked. “No.”

“It’s America’s favorite pastime and this is still a town  _ in America _ .” Jack said and leaned on the table.

“A bunch of grown men slapping each other on their butts and hitting a ball with a stick.” Zoe said. “That’s what this town sees.”

“So I have to get Nathan to play, then?” Jack laughed. “So they can slap his ass?”

“It wouldn’t hurt.”

“I’ll work on that, he wants to see what I looked like when I played. Easier to get in uniform again than to unpack and find those pictures.” Jack rolled his pitching arm and felt a hitch in the rotation. He frowned. “Might need to hit the gym and the physical therapy first.”

“Or maybe that gym membership has other perks?” She said and pointed to the gym across the street with the big picture window. “The town turns out for that halftime show at lunch and now that your reality TV has been shut down, maybe you can use it to drum up some interest in baseball?”

“Build it and they will come.” Vincent said as he delivered coffee to the table, smiled and moved on to the next table.

“Well, I doubt Nathan’s wearing tight pants there.”  _ Or that he’s making it to workout at lunch today _ . Jack smirked and looked at her as she laughed and sipped his Vinspresso that just arrived. He grabbed his drink and narrowed his eyes at her. “Speaking of outfits,  _ what the hell are you wearing _ ?”

“You choose  _ now  _ to mock my clothes?” Zoe asked. “I’ve been wearing them for an hour and in your presence, no less. Just like the Gym has been three doors down from your office for the last week and you barely recognized that brick and mortar landmark where your chisel husband goes to flex his power.”

“I call it like I see it.” Jack said and sipped his coffee. 

“You might want to get your eyes checked.” She shook her head. 

“Well, I see pretty clearly that your dress is not appropriate.” He said. “ The fact that you call that tank top with a belt  _ a dress _ , makes me wonder if you passed the reading portion of the SATs.”

“I’m not telling you my score.” She said and held up a finger as he smirked at her. Smirked. Nathan put him in  _ too  _ good of a mood some days. Even after they argued he still managed to bounce back and be happy. “And you know what? It’s not like I’m wearing a thong under it.”

Jack shook his head, the smile went away. “No. Not talking about this here.”

“Oh, we’re not going to talk about the latest  _ thong _ technology over breakfast?” She asked and he blushed a little. “Jo said it’s getting passed around for educational purposes at the Sheriff’s Department.”

“Not in public.” Jack said. Conversations at home got too adult sometimes but in public he was a little more concerned about what she said in the middle of the cafe that would make him look like Bad Dad of the Decade. Like when she was a fugitive two weeks ago and told the waitress at the truck stop that he touched her funny and he almost got his ass kicked by a dozen truckers while she slipped out through the gift shop. Nope. Not doing that again. 

“How old are you?” She asked. “It’s just an article of clothing.”

“Old enough to know that 'thong' is the last thing I want to hear my 15 year old daughter saying or reading about in a magazine loaded with relationship and sex articles.” Jack said. 

“Thong.” She said and he cringed.

“And I know you well enough to see we were talking about baseball, and thong discussion would immediately turn into jockstrap discussion. Which will set all these people off as they ponder what Nathan looks like modeling those. I know how my daughter works.” 

“Thong!” Zoe sang.

“No.” Jack said and gave her a glare. "Stop making these people fantasize about my husband!"

“Thong! Thong, Thong!” Zoe chanted and turned around to see if anyone was giving her Dad the look of disapproval. Instead she saw a cute boy smiling at her.

“Hey , eyes front.” Jack said and tapped the table. Dangers lurking around every corner around here. She grudgingly looked at him, a smile still on her face as she realized she got noticed for something normal instead of test scores. “What about Putnam?”

“Um, we’re work acquaintances.” She said. 

“Right.” Jack said and shook his head. Zoe’s love life was not what he really wanted to dive into this morning, especially since she could be driving soon. He looked at his watch and realized he was supposed to be at that town meeting soon. “Hey Vincent? I heard something about a town meeting somewhere this morning. Do you know where? Or when?”

“Oh here.” Vince said and everyone's PDAs began beeping. “And now.”


	58. Pastime

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 58

**Pastime**

* * *

_ “Good morning, Eureka!” _

Jack looked around as he heard Henry’s voice but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Everyone was pulling out or watching their PDAs which gave him the context clues he needed to determine he was probably offsite. He pulled his PDA out of his pants pocket and opened it up. Sure enough, there was Henry.

_ “And here’s the Monday Morning Minute.” _

Jack wondered what he missed _last_ Monday, or if there was a meeting last Monday since Henry was at Susan Perkin’s funeral with him. Huh. He never did figure out what killed clone Susan. Maybe she was the ghost? If he was clone-ghost-Susan he’d be pissed that Walter just moved on with his original-human-Susan and the half clone son like nothing happened. Could clones be ghosts? Did Clones have souls? Was Section 5 ghost proofed? So many questions still.

_ “After much discussion we are installing our first traffic light on the corner of Main and Archimedes.” _

Zoe looked up at her Dad, surprised he wasn’t taking the opportunity to say that it was to protect Eureka from her as a student driver. He looked really focused on the meeting.

_ “Also we’ll be holding special elections next month for our new town mayor. All interested candidates, please contact Allison Blake.” _

_Special_ election? Special elections were for when someone vacated a position and it needed to be filled ASAP. Henry was mayor, why was he relinquishing that? This was a recent development if he was announcing now. Something happened in the last week to cause that. Was Henry stepping down as Mayor because he wanted to spend time with Kim, or was he trying to avoid inevitable jurisdiction battles with Nathan? Jack would ask him, Henry was really honest. 

_ “And finally, today, one of our newest citizens, former US Marshall, Sheriff Jack Carter.” _

Zoe smiled at him as he got his ‘shout out’ from Henry. It seemed official now, it seemed like if the whole town knew he was their new Sheriff that this was more permanent than mere promises to ‘try to make things work’. If anything held her Dad in one place, it was his job.

_ “Would you like to share a few words, Sheriff Carter?” _

Jack wasn’t prepared for that, or for the PDA he was holding suddenly switch cameras to him looking at his PDA. OK, if he was on the video feed looking down at the device instead of looking into the camera, that meant the camera was....where? He looked up and saw Putnam’s camera gadget that he used to do his PSA and realized that kid was really working his angles every chance he got. Maybe Zoe wouldn't be too bad off with him, the boy was going places and she took direction from him. Then there was silence and Zoe kicking him in the leg under the table telling him he should start talking. “Um, okay, like he said, I’m Jack Carter.”

Zoe watched on the PDA as her Dad stumbled over words. Then he focused on her and lit up with an idea. NO.  _ No no no _ . 

“And this is my daughter Zoe.” Jack said and put his hand on her shoulder. “So be nice.”

“Dad, stop talking.” She said through gritted teeth. “Now.”

“It’s  _ nice _ .” Jack said and shifted uncomfortably. “To be here.”

“Dad...stop.” Zoe said as she tried to help him but he just kept bumbling his way through this.

“ _ Especially _ with my husband who you all know from the calendar centerfold and his display in the window of the gym at noon, Nathan Stark.” Jack held up his wedding ring and grinned. 

Zoe took a deep breath. This was a disaster.

“Eureka is definitely unique.” Jack said and looked at Zoe who gave him a death glare. _Change topics! Change topics, now!_ “Uh, hey! I was wondering if anybody would like to get together for, you know, a pick-up baseball game? Or maybe a league?”

Zoe closed her eyes. Oh god, why did Nathan abandon them in their time of need? 

“You know, something low-key, just you know, hang out and get to know each other.” Jack said and Vincent gave him a look that said he was considering putting him out of his misery if this went on a few seconds more.

_ “Yeah, our minute is just about up, Sheriff. _ ” 

“Well okay, if anybody’s interested..” Jack said as Henry tried to save him but he just loved running into danger, as Nathan liked to point out.

_ “So, to recap.” _ Henry interrupted.  _ “Traffic signal, Mayor’s election, Sheriff Carter, baseball. Have a great week, folks!” _

Zoe looked up at him as everyone put away their PDAs and started moving towards the door. “Real smooth. Real proud.”

Jack leaned over and whispered. “I wasn’t expecting to have to say something.” 

“Dad, you always have  _ something _ to say. None of that was something you _should_ have said.”  Zoe gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his cheek. “Time to drop me off at school so I can deal with the repercussions of this.”

“Sorry.” Jack said and sighed. No wonder Nathan was her favorite Dad.

* * *

“ _Baseball league_?” Nathan groaned as he smacked his head against the headrest in Ally’s car. “God Jack, read a room. Who am I kidding, you never read  _ anything _ .”

“Be nice Nathan, he’s just trying to fit in.” She said as she giggled at the thought of Nathan being forced to play baseball because his husband was an athlete. “He’s very cute.”

“Yes, I just want to put him _in my pocket_.” Nathan said, mockingly. He shook his head and put away his PDA. Jack was going to teach these people how to live, one way or another. Barbecues, baseball games...who knew his life was going to ever be so ‘normal’. It’s what he always wanted and now he had to figure out how to fit it all into his life. 

“Better than the devil on your shoulder, for sure.” She said and couldn't help but notice the smile on Nathan’s face, the smile that Jack seemed to always bring out of him. Even if they argued this morning, Nathan was annoyed but not angry. There was something about how they argued that was serious, yet playful. She would have never believed it if she wasn’t seeing it first hand. 

“Yeah, well he’s hardly an angel when he gets in my pants.” Nathan mumbled.

“Speaking of the voice in your ear,” Allison said, “What’s going on with the anti-missile shield array?”

“I’ve got two teams on it.” Nathan said with a smile. “They worked last night and will be working around the clock all week so you can have your prototype by Friday.”

“Good.” She said. “The Department of Defense has invested a lot of money in that project, Nathan. They want to see returns soon.”

“Do they?” Nathan was actually happy they were getting this out of the way now, it freed up his schedule quite a bit. She acted like this was the first time since his return that the D.O.D., or a Congressman, was expecting results from a project that had been left in his ‘To-do’ bin by Warren King. How lovely everyone was deciding to cash in those I.O.U.’s now, yet they left Dr. King to play virtual reality samurai games when he should have been working.

“Just a friendly word of advice.” Allison said with a smile.

“So,we’re friends now?” Nathan asked, genuinely interested in the answer. He was actually kinda jealous of the relationship Jack and Abby were trying to develop and hoped he could find that happy medium with Ally. “I guess that’s a step in the right direction.”

“Well, Kevin really enjoyed yesterday. Thanks for inviting us.” She said. “I’ve noticed a huge difference in him, I think he’s doing much better since starting the new drug.”

Nathan nodded. What did he say to that? She saw the drug trial as the reason he was different instead of the inclusion into a family. “Good. That’s good.”

“He had a very positive session this morning.” She said as it was part of her routine in the mornings to work beside Kevin with his therapist when she dropped him off for school. He went in early so they could get in a session prior to the day’s learning which helped him immensely. “He’s very calm, very focused. He doesn’t seem to be having any side effects from the methyl…”

“Methylphenidate Hydrochloride.” Nathan said and played with his watch. He wasn’t comfortable with the position she put him in to ‘cure’ Kevin, but took the position none-the-less because it was the access he could have to his step-son. “It’s a mouthful but it may be the first step to finding a cure for autism.” 

“So, Kevin is definitely on the drug?” Allison asked sweetly.

“Allison, even if I knew I couldn’t tell you.” He said softly. She knew this, she knew how this worked but asked it of him anyway. God, Jack was rubbing off on him, he was narrowing his focus on people’s motives. “It’s a double-blind study. If I told you, it would skew the results, invalidate the trial.”

“I know.” She said as they entered the Global Dynamics parking lot. “It’s just that lately he’s seemed more..focused. Maybe, the right word is connected. Connected to me, if that makes any sense?”

”Well that’s what we’re hoping for.” He said and hoped that he could make sense of Kevin’s drawings and his connection to _the Artifact_. Was the Artifact reaching out or was Kevin attempting to reach out to him by..reading his mind? Connecting to him via his interest? He wasn’t sure, but having Ally more relaxed around him gave him a better chance to figure it all out without skewed results. 

“Great.” She said as she parked in her reserved spot and looked at the empty director’s spot beside her car. It was weird, them driving in together. They never did that when they were married. “Then you’ll keep me in the loop on the shield array?”

Nathan nodded. “Consider yourself kept.” 

She unbuckled her seatbelt and checked her phone for the message she just got. Jack was asking for a medical once-over on Nathan. “And perhaps we can also go to the infirmary to make sure you’re not bleeding internally from your accident?”

He smiled at her as he opened the car door and she held up her phone to show it was Jack’s request. “I’m fine.”

“I’d feel better knowing you were checked out as well.” She said. “If you can spare five minutes for a quick physical.”

Nathan sighed. There went the time he just bought himself by having this conversation on the drive to work. She had the power to insist on a check-up considering he was acting head of GD and might be compromised. “Sure. Might as well start off Monday by stripping off my clothes and submitting to inspection by our medical department.”

“I’ll do the physical, if you want.” She said. 

“Make it fast, I do have a meeting I need to prepare for.” Nathan was glad for that offer. She’d be quick whereas the infirmary would insist on protocol and filling out the entire exam form.

He closed the door and started walking toward the building. She sighed. “Yeah, not the first time I've heard that.”


	59. Any Hard Lesson May Do Thee Good

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 59

**Any Hard Lesson May Do Thee Good**

* * *

“Have a good day at school.” Jack said as he pulled up to the curb at Tesla to drop off Zoe. She jumped out of the car like she was anxious to get away from him. He got out and pointed at her. “You know, try not to commit any felonies.”

“Wow. Great pep talk, Dad.” Zoe said and inched closer to the front door.

Jack laughed as she hurried towards the school. Maybe this was why she liked Nathan more. He looked into his Jeep as the radio crackled to life.

_ “Lupo for Carter, over.” _

He got back in the Jeep. Oh, why did he think this might be a chance for a quiet week? Certainly not with Abby coming into town and a school play he simply could not miss. He leaned over and picked up the radio. “Yeah, go ahead, Jo.”

_ “Over.” _

“Thanks for not making ‘over my dead body’ something I had to contend with this morning, over.” Jack said and smiled. She should have kicked Nathan’s ass for that ticket thing. She should kick his ass for purposely not saying 'over'.

_ “Yeah, well, he’s your problem not mine. Nice speech by the way, baseball is huge here. Over.” _

“So what’s up?” Jack asked then waited a second and added, "over."

_ “Taggart called. He’s found something off Cornelius Loop. You’re going to need to see this. Over.” _

“Copy.” Jack sighed as he put the radio back in it’s cradle. Perfect. Something _Taggart_ found, near the road he _lived on._ Super! He looked up and out the window as Zoe was talking to some kid and decided to stop that shit before it began. He honked the horn and thought about putting on the sirens, however the honk was enough to make her turn and look at him mortified. He waved at her and smiled, then she ran into the building. “Yeah, go study. Learner’s permit...Ha! I’ll take you for a tattoo sooner than I take you to the DMV for that.”

* * *

Nathan was finally in his office with a nice black coffee in his hand to try and combat the bitterness he was currently feeling. Ally found nothing out of place or bleeding and commented on his new workout routine’s benefits but not the weight loss that Jack saw. Clean bill of health was all he needed, now to the business of paying the bills. The budget was still nowhere near close to being on target and the D.O.D. was targeting him for his predecessor’s over promises. He’d manage, but he was disappointed in himself for how he managed this morning. He sat down and picked up his tablet.

Jack certainly knew he was riding an adrenaline rush when he arrived on the scene, he had been to enough accident scenes to know what to expect. He was annoyed at himself nonetheless, for taking out his frustrations on his husband who remained calm and amused most of the time. He wished he had time to apologize, hell, he wished he just  _ had time _ .

He leaned his head back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. To make time he was going to have to delegate. He heard someone stomping up the stairs to his office, slowly, and tilted his head forward to look into the glass window of his office and saw Fargo in the reflection. Well, Fargo looked like shit. Someone had a worse morning than him. So much for thinking Fargo could handle some of his workload. It was going to take some serious mentoring to get this kid up to the task. 

Fargo trudged up to Stark’s desk, plopped in the chair and let his head hit the table.

“Comfortable, Fargo? Can I offer you a beverage?” Nathan drawled as he went back to work and denied a few requests on his tablet. He looked at his exhausted assistant who probably pulled an all-nighter to make up for taking a break on Sunday, a break  _ to break _ his $25,000 a use pool safety device and enjoy some steak. S.A.R.A.H. had updated him of the change of venue, and not the change in her lack of presence meaning he was no longer a +1 as he wasn’t a house’s guest. He didn’t really wasn’t in the place to care about his being there at the time, as he just got off the phone with S.A.R.A.H in regards to Callister and was in a haze. Plus Putnam was a demanding little shit with his photo shoot and was way more annoying than Fargo. Later, however, he had asked if Fargo’s attendance meant that his team had a breakthrough on the anti-missile array and that was why he felt, as team leader, he could take such a relaxing break on a Sunday afternoon. Fargo went to the bathroom and never came back, giving him his answer. No, the array was not even close to finished. 

  
  


“I haven’t slept.” Fargo said and eyed the steaming hot cup of jet black coffee Stark had on the desk. He hated that he swore off coffee since Fudgey died, especially right now that he needed some caffeine. “My team just can’t keep up. Milton’s team is full of Section Five guys. They have better materials, unlimited resources, not to mention 160 IQs.”

“You should have considered that before trash talking his progress and declaring you could do better with just two Section 3 guys and left over supplies you saw in the PX-319 lab.” Nathan reminded him.

“Yeah, well...I wasn’t expecting you to be standing behind me when I said it.”

“Competition breeds excellence.” Nathan chirped as he only half participated in the conversation while running through his emails. Some management class bullshit he could regurgitate easily seemed like a good motivator. “It brings out the best in us.”

“Yeah. Tell that to Fudgey.”

“If you ever want to be considered for Section Five, you need to be able to compete on their level.” Nathan said and pointed a finger at him and Fargo seemed to pick himself up a little and seem inspired. He was _way_ better at impromptu speeches than Jack. “Talent will only get you so far. It comes down to attitude, which from dealing with S.A.R.A.H., I assume you have.”

“I have plenty of attitude.” Fargo said proudly. Then he sank back down to putting his chin on the desk. “What I don’t have is a hyper-velocity anti-missile shield array for the Pentagon test on Friday.”

“If deadlines are a problem, perhaps you should consider eliminating some social activities?” Nathan said and raised his eyebrow. “Like hacking the surveillance feed…”

“I fixed that... _network security issue_.” Fargo said with an apologetic grin.

“Or perhaps checking the logs from your Smart House project.” Nathan said, not having evidence that it was happening other than Fargo being the evidence that it was probably happening. He didn’t need Fargo catching on to S.A.R.A.H’s search for Callister.

“Well, S.A.R.A.H is still a prototype and I am her creator so…”

“I’m living in that house, Fargo. My family is living in that house. The Director of GD and Eureka’s Sheriff and my teenage step-daughter, all living in _your_ SmartHouse. ” Nathan clicked a few things on his tablet, namely saving Beverly’s scheduling request for later and setting a reminder to do that before lunch. “There are a lot of things that could be compromised if someone were to find a security flaw in the network in my place of residence.”

Fargo gulped and smiled. So maybe S.A.R.A.H. was a little _too easy_ when someone she had a crush on asked her to open up her closet and spread out her programming for him to view. At least Stark didn’t see that as a design flaw. “I...guess I could turn the project over to you?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Nathan said. Fargo had so much potential the trick was in narrowing his focus. He had projects everywhere, dabbled in everything, he needed to concentrate on one damned thing. “I’ll be sure to share reports with you once I have properly scanned them for security breaches and redacted sensitive information.”

“OK.” Fargo said and rolled a pen back and forth on the desk. That meant….they were going to work on the project _together_? Right? It meant he would provide feedback and it was now  _ their _ project? His baby was now _Stark’s baby_? Or rather _his mistress_? He might have made a weird noise because his boss lifted his eyes from his tablet and looked at him questioningly. Yeah, could’t blame S.A.R.A.H for giving in to _those beautie_ s and watching as they studied internals. “Can S.A.R.A.H. and I still remain friends or is that to be terminated too?”

Nathan stopped what he was doing and narrowed his eyes at him. “I’m not going to impede an A.I.’s growth by disallowing it to interact with humans socially. I’m not a monster.”

Fargo breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God, because she’s the DM in my D&D group. She’s amazing! If you ever want to play...”

Nathan shook his head. “You can find time for games but…”

“At least I’m punctual!” Fargo exclaimed. Stark could have his D&D night by ripping it from his cold, dead hands. And considering Stark used to do cryogenics research, that was a pretty good possibility as he would appreciate the irony of freezing out Pierre Fargo’s grandson.

Nathan glanced at his watch. Twenty seconds to go before it was 9 am. “Milton’s not late,  _ yet _ .” 

Fargo rolled his eyes and hoped Milton rolled in just a few seconds late. They waited in silence as the second hand slowly rose towards the top of the clock. Five seconds more...he was going to be late!! Fargo almost smiled but then the doors to the elevator opened and out stepped Milton as the clock hit 9:00 am. _Damn him._

“Dr. Hauke, right on time.” Nathan said and Fargo looked a little defeated. The kid should have figured out by now that he didn’t believe being ‘right on-time’ cut it around here. He stood up and waved Fargo out of his seat and started walking down the stairs. He had other places to be in five minutes and he didn’t need updates from either of these two unless they were going to hand him the finished shield array. “Gentleman, change of plans. The team that can deliver a working prototype by tomorrow at 5 pm ,gets the funding.”

Fargo almost fell down the stairs. “But you said  _ Friday. _ ”

Milton smiled as they descended the stairs to the lobby where his team was waiting. Fargo was whining like a child. “By tomorrow we’ll have it in a variety of colors for you, Dr. Stark.”

“See what I mean, Fargo, _attitude_.” Nathan said as Fargo looked at him like a puppy that had just been dropped off at the pound. Milton left with his team and Fargo just stood there, tired and lost. He knew Jack was rubbing off on him when he added, “He’s full of shit, Fargo. You need to focus more on your work than what the competitor is doing because they are, most definitely, lying to you about their progress. You need to focus on one project, make it  _ this one  _ for the next two days.”

Fargo watched him button up his jacket and head towards the elevator. Well that was….inspirational. His team came to check in with him and he said, “Okay, guys our deadline is now tomorrow. So we need to step it up, we need to get serious and most importantly we need to cheat.”


	60. Behold, I Brought You A Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, 60 straight days of this story!
> 
> Yay, I explained how Taggart, an Aussie, may have known about about an ice cream franchise local to New Jersey who created 'Fudgey the Whale' cakes. So he has backstory on how he can name his now deceased whale. Something that only bothered me, despite being the one who created the whale in this story. There is a Moby Dick reference that's going to be made eventually. 
> 
> Oh and Oregon has since changed it's law about pumping gas, but I'm firmly entrenched in this obscure fact from the past as it was how it was when the show was airing and shall be part of the Eureka universe.
> 
> "Behold, I brought you a man" is a nod to Diogenes vs Plato argument over the definition of man as a 'featherless biped'. Diogenes brought a plucked chicken to school and said 'behold, I bought you a man'. This smart-assery and challenging of definition is pretty Eureka, but also amuses me because I'm going for some very basic 'Why did the chicken cross the road' stuff here.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 60

**Behold, I Brought You A Man**

* * *

Jack arrived at the scene on Cornelius Loop, glad to see it was still a good three miles from the bunker. So...that had to be one for the win column. No crime scene at the house today, _big win._ He got out of the Jeep and Jo appeared out of a path in the woods to meet him. He looked at the broken branches, an obvious tell that something had crashed through the woods, and wondered how he missed _that_ on his drive in to work this morning. _Oh that was right_ , his husband got into an accident and he was worried about him! But that was a good five minutes before he ended up getting in a fight about some theoretical reason why his car ended up kissing a tree. “So what do we have, Jo?”

“Taggart was out tracking things this morning and came across a body.” She said and Jack stopped in his tracks. 

“Oh cool.” Jack said and closed his eyes and sighed. “A body down the road from where I live. _Awesome._ Taggart tracking things out by my house. _Even better_!”

“It’s down here.” She said with a smile. “Henry is on his way.”

Jack followed her and reached out to inspect the branches that had been snapped off as if by some hurricane force winds. It was a path wide enough for man, but there was no way man could do this kind of damage unless he was a human tornado. That was before factoring in that the species of trees these were. “Are these those special trees that are genetically engineered to withstand UFO crashes?”

“Yeah.” Jo said. “Old school Eureka defense shield, back in the 50's when UFO’s were a lurking danger in the skies….along with missiles.”

“The only luring danger around here is  _ Eureka _ .” Jack looked at the shredded branch and shook his head. Henry would have the specs on what it would take to generate enough force to damage one of these things. “What could have done this?”

“Gigantopithecus Americanus.” Taggart announced out of nowhere.

“Taggart?” Jack jumped as the current luring danger spoke. He turned to look at him and was immediately blinded by his headlamp.  _ “What the hell. _ ”

“ _Shhhhhhh_.” Taggart leaned in and whispered. “It could still be out here.”

“What?” Jack asked as he covered his eyes and wondered if he could still keep his job if he was blind. Figures. He marries the hottest man he had ever seen in his life and, a week after getting his shit together, he loses his ability to see him. 

“Note the large stride, trail of destruction, the extended footprint.” Taggart said as he pointed at a section of disturbed ground.

“Tell me you don’t mean Big Foot.” Jack said as he took his hand away to try and see again. Lots of black dots in his vision. Lots of em. 

Jo looked away and mumbled. “Thought he was talking about Stark.”

Jack looked at her as she giggled and was glad he could still see, even if his vision was pockmarked by little black dots. Taggart turned off his headlamp and put his hand on his shoulder. “I mean,  _ Gigantopithecus Americanus _ .” 

“Big Foot could wreck the trees? The special damage control trees?” Jack asked. “Nevermind. Let’s look at the body. I've argued about enough theoretical shit this morning to last me the week. Let's see a dead body and put me back in my comfort zone, which is police work.”

Jo led the way down to the swamp and then turned and opened her hands to show Taggart’s find. Jack reacted the same way she did, with confusion. "Is this your comfort zone, because that explains a lot about the tentacles."

“Is that  _ a body _ ?” Jack asked as he looked at the almost gelatinous corpse. It looked more like one of those ballistic gelatin molds they used to test things in the crime lab. Except...more realistic and flesh colored and clothed. He hated to admit Jo might be onto something about the tentacles, this dude could have been part squid.

“Not anymore.” Jo said as they squatted down to look at it and Taggart joined them.

“He’s saving the rest for later.” Taggart said with a hush and tilted his chin up and added. “That’s how _they_ _feed_.”

Jack sighed, there wasn't much difference between Taggart on Monkey-Paranoia Beam saving the world from aliens and Taggart on his normal bullshit. He looked up as he heard the sound of an older diesel engine and a door slamming. Henry was here. He stood up and rubbed his eyes, he had no idea what to say about this. This was unlike any body he had dealt with in all his years as a cop. Stupid town. Why did they have to be _so extra_? “What were you doing out here anyway, Taggart?”

“Tracking Big Foot.”

“By  _ my house _ ?” Jack asked. 

“Well they don’t prowl populated areas or they would have been photographed by now.”

“Night vision goggles. Out all night, were you?” Jack observed and Jo smiled and he just shook his head and decided he didn’t want to know what tall, dark, long-strided legendary creature with a size 12 foot he might have been hoping to catch a glimpse of in the dark. Joke was on him because Nathan was not going to be out breezing in the morning like a Secretariat, he was going to be wreaking a path of destruction with his anger at being up that early. “I’ll save  _ that _ for later. I’ll go get Henry.”

Jo watched him climb back up the path to the road and nudged Taggart. “So do you really think Big Foot did this?”

“Well it wasn’t the Jersey Devil.” Taggart said. “They don’t eat anything this big. Pets, small children, not a full size man.”

“And this isn’t New Jersey despite being the only other state in the Union where it's illegal to pump your own gas.” Jo said for him but he didn’t reply and she huffed. Taggart captured one of those damned things and brought it back with him. Great. File that in things that would _literally_ bite them in the ass later.

Jack met Henry at the road and noticed he was checking out the tree damage already. “Hey, I was going to ask you what could damage these special trees like this.”

“Well, pretty much anything normal as the lower limbs are flexible and as close to unmodified as the original. The trunks and the canopy are what were engineered to withstand a sizable impact, the pre-EM field protecting Eureka, if you will. However to keep the ecosystem happy, the tree had to still remain somewhat close to spec down here.” Henry answered. It didn't answer what did this damage though.

“Gotcha.” Jack said and hooked a thumb over his shoulder and pointed down the new trail. “Then let me take you to the main feature and ask what you think about that.”

Henry followed him and said, with a touch of humor, “So, quite the coincidence that two mysterious accidents happen in your neck of the woods this morning.”

“Don’t start. Nathan isn’t going to drop his fight for innocence easily. I don’t need you giving him anything to go on. I'm already convinced Taggart was out here stalking him and writing if off as hunting Big Foot.” Jack said and shook his head. “How's the car?”

“Still haven't had time to look at it.” Henry said and sighed. “All I’ve had time to do was put it in my garage to get it off the tow truck. Busy morning. I’ll scan it and send a report on damage to Nathan when I get a chance.”

Jack made it back down to the swamp where Taggart was busy drawing pictures of Big Foot eating people in the mud to illustrate something to Jo. He pointed to the body. “Well, what do you think about this?”

Henry bent down and looked at the body and put on some latex gloves and began feeling it to confirm what it looked like. He shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

“I have. It’s never pretty.” Taggart said, hovering over Carter’s shoulder.

“Would you stop with the Big Foot? This is serious.” Jack said.

“I take Big Foot _very seriously_.”

“There is no way an animal did this, real or imaginary.” Jack said.

“Carter’s right,” Henry said and took out a probe. “Look, these are friction burns. Those are impact wounds. He’s probably broken every bone in his body. It’s like he’s fallen out of an airplane.”

“Only horizontally.” Jack said.

Henry pointed to him, “Exactly.”

“OK, so we know this isn’t an animal attack….” Jack said and stopped when he heard a hum of disapproval from Taggart.

“If you buy _that hypothesis._ ” Taggart mumbled.

“Yeah.” Jack said and rolled his eyes. “I’m going out on a limb here.”

“So, what? Physics happened?” Jo asked. “Is that our working theory?”

“Probably a physicist.” Henry sighed. People of Eureka risked life and limbs to get things accomplished and it was only getting worse. They knew redactions were coming, Nathan had made that pretty clear. It was time to kick things into overdrive and push projects, and themselves, to the limit. That was not what Eureka was supposed to be about.

Jack touched something on the body that looked out of place. It was metal, not a splinter. It shocked him when he touched it. “Uh, Henry, what is this?”

Henry leaned over. “That is a subcutaneous computer chip, probably bio metric. Might be shorting out because of the damage the body sustained.”

“I’m sorry?” Jack asked, a little more concerned with the privacy violations of that statement than the vocabulary.

“Oh, genetically encoded marker, usually used for tracking or identification.” Henry said and looked up as Taggart started sobbing.

“Just like I…” Taggart felt overcome with emotion and stepped back. “Just like I used to track Fudgey.”

Jack turned and looked at him as he pulled out a camo handkerchief and dabbed his eyes. Jo patted him on the back to console him. One of these days he was going to have to ask about that damned whale!! “Uh….yeah. Just like that.”

“Only this is a little more sophisticated that you would find on the open market” Henry pointed out. “Which means..”

Jack stood up straight as they had a partial ID on the body now. “That this guy is a researcher at Global Dynamics.”

“Or the research.” Henry added which didn’t seem to set well with Jack despite him being in the same boat as this guy was since his contract opened him up for the same thing: human guinea pig.

“I’ll call Stark.” Jo said as the look on Jack’s face said that he was probably going to start asking questions that were not pertinent right now and start another fight. 

“No, hang on.” Jack said and held up his finger. He appreciated what she was trying to save him from since his opening volley was probably going to be ‘Your human test subject better have started out as ballistics gelatin because if he was human, this is fucked up’. Yeah, didn’t need that discussion for today. Best to leave Nathan out of this, especially since he already had a taste of how GD handled it’s over investigations: which was to take over the investigation. “I have a better idea.”

“I’ll get Spencer and we’ll get this body out of here.” Henry said as Jack pulled out his phone and nodded.

* * *

Allison was walking down the hall at GD when her phone rang. She smiled and answered, Jack was probably concerned about Nathan. He was very sweet. “Hello, Carter. Your husband is fine, just his normal cranky self for waking up a little too early for his liking."

“ _Well, I am very happy to hear that, but I’m currently looking at someone who is arguably having a much worse morning than Nathan._ ”

“I’m sure he would argue that.” She said and pressed the button on the elevator and waited for it to arrive. Nathan was not a morning person, that never changed.

“ _He would.”_ Jack laughed. “ _Look, I need a favor._ ”

“Oh. I thought you would never ask.” Allison said with a smile. “Listen, I’ve always wanted to play first base. They’re always putting me in right field.”

“ _Ok, I’ll definitely keep that in mind, but that’s not what I’m calling about.”_

“Oh.” She said, disappointed. So much for things changing around here. 

_ “There’s been an accident and it might be connected to Global Dynamics.” _

“Well that’s going to make Nathan’s day.” She said and rolled her eyes. It wouldn’t hurt him to be wrong occasionally, but apparently today was not the day.

_ “Not Nathan’s accident. That’s going to be pretty hard to blame on GD, but I’m sure the argument is forthcoming. Uh...my current problem is that we found a subcutaneous computer chip in a man’s ribs and I need you to source it. Allison, I hate to ask this, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let anyone know? We’re trying to do this as quietly as we can.” _

“Got it.” She said and the elevator door opened as soon as she hung up. Nathan was standing there surprised to see her. He looked like he was lost in thought, he probably was down in Section 5 checking on projects, it was the only place that made him think that hard. 

“Ally.” Nathan said and fiddled with his cuffs. He wondered if she knew he had transferred Kevin’s medical and therapy files down to Dr. Brock so that they could work on determining what Kevin’s connection to the Artifact was. She was not pissed, so it had to be something else. “Miss something on the physical?”

“I think it’s you who’s missing someone.” She said and he narrowed his eyes at her, obviously running through the possibilities. She left him hanging and started walking down the corridor to his office and didn’t say another word. 


	61. On This Lonely Road

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 61

**On This Lonely Road**

* * *

“I’m betting the computer chip means…” Henry stopped as he heard a 'shhhhh' and looked over at Taggart as he shushed him and held up his hand.

Jack and Henry both looked at Taggart as he seemed to be listening in to something. Jack figured he was probably tuning in to another universe or the spirit world. Or maybe he was just hearing colors. The dude was something else.

“Nothing.” Taggart said and shrugged it off. He might need his hearing checked. He thought he heard the whine of something coming over the hill, but it might have been something on Henry’s truck.

Henry continued, apparently there was no threat of incoming attack. Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m betting this computer chip means this guy was working on something classified.”

Jack sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on, but my gut is telling me it’s something bad.”

“His guts should have told you that.” Taggart quipped and nudge Carter, and pointed at the corpse.

Henry turned as he heard something coming down the road, probably the same thing Taggart had tuned into. Taggart and Jack were busy talking and poking at the body, and didn’t see the cars coming. 

“Let’s hope the autopsy can give us something concrete.” Jack said and Henry tapped him on the arm to alert him to something he was looking at, but by the time he turned it was too late. They were already upon them; the fleet of black Global S.U.V.’s. One pulled up right next to them and he made eye contact with Nathan through the windshield. He ground his teeth as Nathan got out of the passenger seat.  _ Great _ . So much for avoiding a fight over jurisdiction. _Thanks Allison for being discreet_. 

Nathan got out of the car, as did Allison and the rest of his GD retrieval crew. He stood in the street and clasped his hands over each other, trying to come up with a better way to handle this than another screaming match in front of his people. Jack stepped back from the body, straightened up and came right at him, knowing what was coming, and telling him he wasn’t backing down this time either. He licked his lips to say something but he wanted to try to do this more civilized. More privately. So he ignored Jack and barked, “I want everything packed up and moved to Global Dynamics.”

“Hey!” Jack shook his head as Nathan turned and walked away; further away from the vehicles, people and body so they could have some privacy for this most recent pissing match of theirs. Jack wasn’t going to have any of it so he started yelling to get Nathan's attention to keep this fight exactly where he didn’t want it. “ _ Hey!” _

Nathan kept walking away, Jack would give in and follow him. Jack was too physical, he liked to fight up close. That’s why he always rushed into things, he hated to be out of range. Nathan glanced over at the woods when he was in line with a path cut in the trees, which was a very unique kind of damage. Which Section 5 project could have done _that_? He turned as Allison approached and saw Jack still yelling at everyone. He sighed. He didn’t want it to go like this, his heart wasn’t in this fight, and he hoped Jack would see that. Right now as he walked away from his husband, who was yelling at everyone and everything behind him, all he could see was that picture Putnam took of Eureka’s key players at the barbecue: the picture that was now playing out in front of everyone’s eyes. With him on his own looking annoyed that people were not behaving like he wanted them to and Jack surrounded by his core group of people, all hanging back to see how they could help him. Allison was keeping her distance from him to show she wasn't his right hand; Close enough to establish she backed his play as D.O.D. liaison but distant enough to say she definitely did not side with him on this. He hated himself a little bit right now.

“It’s a crime scene! Don’t touch anything!” Jack looked around and screamed at the GD people who really didn’t deserve to be yelled at. They answered to Nathan and they were following orders. “Jo, you want to tend to this?”

Jo nodded and went to intimidate the lab techs into not touching anything, her only move here. They kept moving, fearing losing their jobs more than being arrested by her. Jack sprinted off after Nathan and she sort of hoped she’d tackle him and put his face in the dirt for this shit move.

Nathan kept walking. He was determined to remain calm and professional, partly to try and help Jack see reason instead of red and mostly to remind himself this was protocol and had to be done. He heard Jack’s footsteps on the pavement, he was running to catch up now. Always so much energy. Now it was his turn to yell about an accident, like he had this morning when he handled his own accident so well. Their roles kept reversing, and he was struggling to handle that well. Nathan chose to address him before he could start screaming again, best way to keep himself level-headed for this. “I appreciate your efforts, Sheriff, but this is a little above your pay grade.”

Allison walked beside Nathan as Jack caught up to them. Nathan was addressing him by title, in hopes that it would keep things professional. That..never worked. This was hardly a professional approach though, in Jack’s defense.

“Which I assume you knew since you called Allison before you called me.” Nathan said as he turned on Jack as soon as he caught up to him. Sure enough, Jack was almost immediately in his face as he turned to him. He folded his hands in front of himself, doing his best to remain physically neutral even though Jack was most definitely being aggressive. He doubted his attempts to tone down the emotions with just body language would work, especially since he just implied he was upset he didn't get the phone call and Jack was using Allison to go behind his back. OK, it was the same thing he asked Jo to do this morning: not call her boss. Eureka was really screwing with both of them and he felt like it was more than coincidence. That would be something for later since jack was, literally, breathing down his throat.

“You’re  _ so _ stuck in right field.” Jack said to Allison as he leaned around Nathan, as she tried to hide behind him. Or maybe Nathan was shielding her for being a snitch. He didn’t address Nathan immediately, which was the best slight he could come up with for the situation. Nathan was acing way too calm and making him feel like he was blowing this out of proportion. Well, maybe, but he could have handled this better.

“I had to tell him Carter, we have strict protocols about this.” Allison said defensively.

Jack looked to Nathan and did his best to stand up taller. Nathan wasn’t angry, he looked apologetic. _Fine._ Jack was plenty pissed for both of them. “You’re interfering with a criminal investigation and _I am the law_.”

“This man worked in section Five, where _I am the law_.” Nathan replied, as calmly as possible. “So unless you have hard evidence of a crime…”

Henry pulled out his digital imagining pen from his pocket and started scanning the body over his shoulder. He knew exactly where all this was going and it was all going back to Global Dynamics. He had to take what he could before it was all packed up.

“You can stop doing what you’re doing.” Nathan said loudly and turned to look at his mentor and added for emphasis, “ _ Henry _ !”

“Deep,  _ deep _ right field.” Jack said to Allison and she looked away, understanding his feeling of betrayal. He looked at Nathan and snapped. “You don’t even know what that chip says as it’s still in the body! It's not reporting to you because it's broken, which I know because it and shocked me! You don’t have any evidence this crime has anything to do with Section Five!”

Nathan eyed Henry, asking him to not get involved with this already charged situation. He could see Henry was about to back up Jack’s statement and needed him to not add fuel to his fire. 

“Consider me Switzerland.” Henry said with a smile and a shrug. “I’m just here, _packing up_.”

Yeah. He could see from Henry’s smile that he was 100% behind Jack on this. He wasn’t feeling undermined or betrayed, just frustrated that this was a fissure that kept getting wider between them. He turned back to Jack who was just a ball of energy ready to lash out. “No other researchers have that tracking chip, it’s Section Five. I respect the job you do here, Sheriff, I do. It just ends here.”

“Right.” Jack said. “Any respect for the investigation process is completely diminished by it being packed up and hidden in the bowels of GD. A man is dead,  _ Nathan _ ! One of _your_ people _is dead_ and the reason needs to figured out so there is justice! There needs to be closure for their family! Someone needs to be held accountable! This is not acceptable! This is not an acceptable loss! Human life is not cheap, it’s not worth whatever super secret device this guy was working on that turned him into a tree chopping squid!”

“Jack. Don’t be a hypocrite. What people choose to risk for their jobs is entirely their decision." Nathan finally broke down and threw aside the titles as they were not doing much to make an impact on him. They didn’t convey sincerity. "A Section five researcher obviously took some work home with him that should have never left the lab.” 

“Oh, _imagine that._ ” Jack said and threw up his hands. “Another Walter Perkins taking work home with him so he can open up wormholes to avoid losing his job. Another admission of a major security breach in this ‘above my paygrade’ section of Global where the super dangerous stuff is kept to protect us all. Another GD Employee taken back to Section 5 before I could figure out what crimes the committed. Wonder who the Susan Perkins of this case is, I guess we'll never know, because working for you means immunity from everything!”

“Don’t start…”

“I’m just getting started.” Jack threatened. “This is bullshit. People aren’t stealing things, Nathan. They’re taking stuff home to work on it because they are scared of losing their jobs. People are dying, it's very much my job to serve and protect them. Even if it's from themselves!”

“Be prudent, Sheriff.” Nathan immediately went back to trying to keep this professional. Just to keep them both safe. “I wouldn’t want _ you _ to end up in federal prison.”

“Yeah, well I wouldn’t want you to end up with my foot up shoved up your ass.” Jack countered. Nathan was reminding him this line of accusations had landed him in jail last week, because he had no evidence against Jason Anderson either. He was reminding him that government protocols were being followed and if he kept going that he would be breaking the federal law. _Fuck!_ He used to be the Federal law! He used to be able to stroll in and be this asshole who took over things and said he answered to the government not locals! Well, just not here because it was Eureka and Eureka was the Mt. Olympus of science and the Gods of Science made their own laws! However, nobody was above the law! Someone’s life was lost and that didn’t get swept under the rug under his watch! Not again! Not like how clone Susan was...or whatever the fuck happened to Fudgey! 

Nathan sighed. Yeah, he was pissed. He’d keep calm, one of them had to. He was doing his damnedest to work with him here but his job said ‘no’. jack was not in a place to be able to hear or discuss that. “Sheriff, we’re grown men. I’d like to think we’re a little more evolved than that.”

“Oh, you, overestimate me.” Jack snapped, glared at him, and turned to walk away. Walk off his anger and frustration because this was  _ not  _ working together! This was pulling the exact same shit he was doing last week, the _exact same shit_ they said they weren’t going to do!

“Touche.” Nathan said softly and looked up at the sky to try and wipe the image of that fucking photo out of his head. The division of this town versus  _ just him _ , as Putnam saw it. Except Putnam meant it to be honoring his position, the stalwart hero standing alone against the laws of man and nature. He used to see it that way, but his heart ached at the thought of being alone doing anything anymore. Protocol dictated that he handle these situations internally, he knew Jack understood that- but understanding and accepting it were two entirely different things. Jack would never accept it.

  
“No.” Jack said as he looked down at his watch and saw the time. He stopped in his tracks, spun around and marched right back to Nathan. No, no, no! Same fucking thing they did last week at this  _ exact same time _ . Fuck, no. They were not going separate ways, he was going to fight him to work on this together! He was not doing this all over again, they were going to compromise and he was going to beat Nathan at his own game and prove to him he was not the opponent he wanted to face. He was going to prove to him that he wanted him by his side, on his side, because he definitely did not want him working against him.. “You know what? You  _ under _ estimate me!”

“Excuse me?” Nathan asked. He wasn’t sure if he thought that somehow he insulted his work. He really did mean everything he said about respecting Jack’s work, and his way of working, but Jack just refused to accept that there was a line where town law ended and GD law began. 

“Your move to draw back to your defenses is  _ weak _ . I’m already three moves ahead of you.” Jack said as he returned to the stare-down with Nathan. Fuck him! He could have been in his office getting the best blow job of his life right now and instead he was deciding to take a dead body back with him instead! Ok...that didn’t sound right….even in his head.

“This isn’t a game, Jack.” Nathan reminded him. 

“Yeah it is. Chess is applicable to life in every way and you’re just mad because my board is _all of Eureka_ and that includes G.D. sitting up on that hill. I’m pissed because some pawn who ended up dead near _our house_ didn’t have the ability to move backwards because they were a pawn. They were being sacrificed for the greater good of science or GD or Big Foot...I don’t know! I just know someone died and they deserve justice!” Jack said and that made Allison bail on this argument. She walked away and that meant Nathan kept his Chess Jesus thing a secret or else she would be more interested in seeing how this went. She thought he was going to make a fool of himself talking about chess!  _ Ooh hohoho _ . Maybe someone did want to get his ass kicked after all!

“Jack.” Nathan leaned closer, watching Jack’s smile turn a little more wicked and his eyes a little less clouded with anger and more dark with a competitive edge. What... _ the hell _ ? His own heart rate picked up in response to _that look_. 

“Nathan.” Jack said and licked his lips. “You made your play, it’s  _ my turn _ .”

Nathan shook his head and wished he wasn’t so turned on by this. But Jack just found the one way they could compete at work and still remain level headed and devotedly in love with each other. He felt a little out of breath as Jack’s looked at him like he was...hungry. Like he was confident of a win. Like he was ready to enjoy the spoils of war. What the fuck just happened?

“Hey, looks like there is a stain on your coat.” Jack said, with a smug smile and his voice a little more level and definitely mocking. He made a show of stepping back and looking down at the long black wool coat he had stained last week when he was equally turned on by Nathan’s clever move that beat Beverly at her own game. Even the damned coat had some of Nathan’s semen! Well, that was _his_ and by god he was really turned on by this and he was  _ not  _ changing his original plan to celebrate their week together. Maybe this was a bad idea right now, but he too was fueled by adrenaline and he wanted to ride it a little while longer. Maybe ride him. Whatever. The house was just a few miles up the road, he’d be stupid to not take advantage of it. “Might want to get that dry cleaned along with that suit you got all wet yesterday.”

Yeah, maybe Jack was a little bit too enthusiastic about the trash talk, but so was he. His tone of voice was making Nathan clear his throat and struggle to not loosen his tie to breathe better. _Wait._ Was he implying…”Are you wanting to take this back to GD,  _ or the house? _ ”

“Whose body do you want more right now?” Jack asked. “The dead guy’s,  _ or mine _ ?”

Nathan cleared his throat again and felt his cheeks flush a little. “I  _ could _ take an early lunch and have you drive me back to GD instead of heading back with my team.”

“Where we can look at the autopsy results, together?” Jack asked and stepped closer, close enough he could hear Nathan’s fluctuating breath. “Since I’ll already be there? With you? After we drop off your coat, suit and maybe those pants you're wearing?”

Yeah, he was definitely going to have to use his coat to hide an erection at _a crime scene_ thanks to his husband. Oh he was walking right into a trap, but the situation be damned. He already forgot about the dead body a mere 50 feet away and was only interested in the one almost brushing up against his. He smirked, Jack smiled back. Oh this was going to be a whole different show than Eureka had last week. “I may be convinced to share the results.”

“Good. My mouth is more convincing when I'm not talking.” Jack said and waved his arm at the crime scene. Then said huskily, “Take it.”

Nathan took one long exhale and asked, confused. “Take  _ what _ ?”

“The body." Jack said and Nathan looked like his brain was doing mental somersaults. "And I’ll take you home.  _ For lunch _ .”

Nathan had to clear his throat again because he wasn’t sure he could remember how to speak, more or less use his commanding voice. His mind was repeating Jack’s words ‘take it’ and sending blood to the wrong part of his body. OK, he needed to pull himself together. “Ally? A word?”

Jack smiled at him as his voice crackled a little and definitely didn't have the carry it usually did. He walked back to his own crew, a little bit of jaunt in his step now. Yeah. Jo would read him like a book but he doubted that any of them were going to think any less of him for rendering Nathan down to a puddle of needy mess. “So, change of plans.”

Jo walked back over as they had a pow-wow over the dead guy. Why did Jack look like he was about to fuck the prom King? She looked over at Stark who was now walking towards the Jeep and talking to Allison over his shoulder like he was trying to hide his face or something. Holy shit! It was because Jack  _ was  _ going to fuck the prom King! “How!? How are you this horny _all the time_!”

“The alpha always is. Way to go, mate.” Taggart said as he recognized the look of lust in Carter’s eyes. “Reminds me of the mating rituals of my hybrid wolf pack. The Alpha enjoys a challenge, gets his cackles up but, at the right stage, can be convinced to enjoy the pleasures of his pack instead of chasing off the challenger. Shows who really is in control..”

"What kind of wolves _do you have_?" Jo asked incredulously. That didn't sound right.

Henry shook his head and just zipped up the body bag. There was nothing right about this discussion, but it was definitely way more wrong to be having it over a guy that was no more than ground meat. “So, GD is taking over the investigation?”

“They’re taking the body.” Jack said and shrugged. “I’ll drive Nathan back to work, since he broke his car, and get the results from him.”

“What _ results _ ?” Jo asked. “DNA from his sperm samples?”

Jack ignored that as Taggart hummed his approval. “Can you guys double check the scene after GD leaves and look for anything we missed? I’ll keep Nathan busy for uh...lunch.”

“God damn Carter,  _ an hour _ ?” Jo asked. She wasn’t sure what she was more impressed with: his stamina or their sex life. She really was feeling her lack of love life right now, maybe getting Callister back wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He kept up with her, he was game for anything and also had some weird sciencey sex knowledge that was very welcome. 

“Good for you, mate.” Taggart said and looked between Carter and Stark. A tangle of powerful beasts was always thrilling to watch. “ _ Good _ for you.”

“More like, checkmate.” Jack said and smiled at them. Oh God he  _ loved  _ this game. “I’ll have the King right where I want him.”

“I bet.” Taggart said and nodded appreciatively.

"Amazing." Jo said and shook her head. "Just, amazing."

“So please, check out the scene.” Jack said and started to back away. “I’ll get autopsy results and check back in with you in an hour or so?”

Henry was amazed to see Nathan getting in Jack’s Jeep. Allison was also confused by the looks of it. He laughed. “Compromise, huh?”

“Yeah.” Jack grinned. “I’m a peace keeper, negotiating peaceful ends to confrontations is what I do.”

Jo watched him jog back to his Jeep as the GD crew came to take the body away with them. “I’m impressed. They’re oddly perfect for each other. I’m also incredibly jealous and wishing I kept that tentacle.”

“It’s not so odd, really. I’d love to share the results of my pack dynamics studies with you.” Taggart offered and blushed a little. “I wouldn’t mind a ride back to town, myself.”

Jo watched the GD dudes carry the body bag to a truck, then Henry wheel his gurney back to his own truck. Henry and Spencer busied themselves waiting for all the vehicles to leave so they could get back to work. She however wasn’t sure if it was the overwhelming horniness of her boss, the fact that Taggart was wearing full cammies and was out all night tracking something, or actually attraction than made her say. “Ok, I’m game. Tell me more.”


	62. Reasonable Adults

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 62

**Reasonable Adults**

* * *

“Is this really what reasonable adults do when they’re arguing about who gets custody of a dead body?” Nathan asked as he lay, once again, on his back with his legs hanging off the end of the bed, and his pants around his ankles and his overcoat stained. They barely made it to the bedroom this time, and he would have been thrilled to do this on the couch, floor or kitchen table, but Jack wanted to recreate the scene from last week. It was good, Jack was amazing, this was the best lunch he had ever had.. 

“Only body I am interested in, right now, is yours.” Jack said and crawled on the bed, super satisfied with himself and his ability to lure Nathan home for lunch and still stick to his original plan. “And that we made it a week together and celebrated not separating.”

“Shit.” Nathan said and ran his hand over his face. He was numb, mentally and physically. How was Jack _that good_? “You manage to stop my brain from working in the most unusual and unpredictable ways.”

“That’s why I’m on the high leaderboard.” Jack sing-songed.

“If you crawl under the table and give someone a blow job to win at chess, I am going to say you play that game with nobody else but me.” Nathan rolled his head over and smiled at him; drinking in the beauty that was a triumphant husband who really deserved to be experiencing the same euphoria right now. Unfortunately Nathan was barely able to use his mouth for forming words and was unsure he could provide a performance that wasn't just sloppy. Especially when his beard tickled the inside of Jack's thighs and there was always a lot of flailing. Good flailing, but too often those thighs ended up choking him or trying to crush his skull. He was not agile enough at the moment to tangle with that and operate his mouth and operate his fingers....but Jack's smile said he didn't care. He said he enjoyed himself plenty. Tonight. Tonight he would have him thrashing. Yes. Adding that to the to-do list. 

"You OK?" Jack asked and ran his hand over his bearded jaw. "You look like you're trying to rewrite laws of nature or finishing up a thesis or something."

"Hard to get my mind wrapped around you." Nathan answered honestly. “Thanks for finding a way we can work. This is...unreal.”

“Really would be easier if you weren’t such a dick, but love your dick...so I’ll suck it up.” Jack laughed and wiped his mouth just for visual accompaniment of the statement. Nathan smiled, that innocent and beautiful smile that he loved.

“Shit.” Nathan repeated. “Just when I think I can’t be any more in love with you, you prove me wrong.”

“I love you, Nathan. I love our battles and I really love that you let me take you home when everyone there knew we were leaving to fuck.” Jack said and laughed as he kissed his lips.  “I also kinda  like proving you wrong.”

“Don’t remind me.” Nathan said and wished he felt bad about this early ‘nooner’. Especially when Allison asked for clarification about him going to lunch and then studied his face long enough to see how god damned aroused he was. He wasn’t quick enough to hide his erection with his overcoat either and she just stood there, speechless. They never were like this. Ever. He was never like this until Jack. No...they weren't _like this_ until Eureka. 

“Weird thing is it enhances  _ your  _ reputation.” Jack snorted and propped himself on his elbow so he could watch Nathan's beautiful face as they talked. “And people are  _ so _ jealous of me!”

“If they knew what you could do with your tongue, they would never think about me like that again.”

“Cool, I'll use that to my advantage when we get our league put together. I think I developed a taste for salty snacks and nut from all those sunflower seeds I ate during baseball.” Jack saw Nathan thinking about that, he loved when he got that ‘what?’ look on his face, trying to determine if it was fact or bullshit. 

“Your oral fixation started as a literal oral fixation?”

“Play with me. I’ll show you how to gently use your teeth to open it up, tongue to coax out the seed and just the right amount of suction to get the delicious nut out.” Jack said with the softest voice to make it sound like he could simply be giving instruction on eating sunflower seeds or be doing an instant reply on how he just drained Nathan’s. He played with Nathan’s tie and watched his smile fluctuate between, ‘he’s fucking with me’ to ‘he just fucked me like that’ to ‘fuck it, I don’t care if he’s lying I love when he talks dirty about the most inappropriate shit’.

Nathan reached up, wrapped his hand around his head and pulled him down to kiss him. He knew he was glowing, but so much of that was because he loved this man so damned much.  This clever, beautiful, amazing, honest, horny and immature man was his. “I’ll play with you. Bed. Chess. Baseball. Whatever you want.”

“You’ll play baseball with me?” Jack asked, surprised. “OK, easy with the hair, you really got to pulling on that hard when I was just playing with your balls. Thankfully my tit still hurts from when you almost bit it off last night and will keep my mind off the hair you ripped out.”

“I’ll catch.” Nathan said and smoothed out his hair and felt a little bad about that. 

“So that you can tell me what to do?” Jack asked. “While I look at your crotch? Or so you smack my ass when you visit the mound, like you just did on the way up the stairs to the bedroom when I insisted you do this on our bed?”

“Mmmhmmm.” Nathan said and stroked his cheek. 

“You played baseball?” Jack asked.

“I’ve swung a lot of things that would surprise you.” Nathan grinned.

“Was it like a physics experiment or something?” Jack asked. He couldn’t imagine young Nathan, that kid he saw in the picture, making time for athletics.

“I liked to swim, but swimming was more a solo sport.” Nathan said and stretched out and looked at his watch to see how much time they had left. “But my parents made me join little league to try and help me socialize with kids my age.”

“How did that go?”

“I started questioning the coaches plays and got benched a lot.” Nathan chuckled. “So I got plenty of time to read. Maybe I should see about getting some instruction, make an appointment at the batting cages with a genuine MVP ball player? Will you coach me?”

“I was a pitcher.” Jack said. “And there is no way Eureka has batting cages.”

“Eureka has a lot of things that can be modified to fire a ball at a target.” Nathan said and showed Jack his watch to tell him it was time to get going. “And GD has a director who needs to see if he can hit the strike zone on the target budget numbers before he has to fire people.”

“You’ll really play baseball with me?” Jack asked. “On my team?”

“I’m on your team, Jack.” Nathan said and brushed his cheek with his thumb. “Always have been.”

Jack kissed him and put his forehead against his. He really wanted to stay in bed the rest of the day. One of these days, they were going to have to do that. 

“I’m sorry about this morning.” Nathan said and kept petting his face with his fingers. " I could have handled that better.”

“I’ve been at enough accident scenes to know that nobody handles it well.” Jack said and rolled off to the side. “We’re good. I mean, you’re _still at fault_ for the accident, but I don’t fault you for being worked up about it.”

“I didn’t hit anything and I didn’t lose control.” Nathan said adamantly and Jack laughed. “I’m talking about _ the accident _ .”

“Right.” Jack said and tugged on his tie and rolled back over to kiss him again. “Only I can make you do that, right?”

“Yeah.” Nathan said and cupped his cheek and kissed him. 

“Good. I love doing this to you.” Jack said and put his hand on his bearded chin and played with his lip with his finger and smiled. “Wanted to do it to you in your office, but you had to ruin that by ruining my crime scene.”

“Holy shit.” Nathan said and immediately imagined Jack on his knees, head in his lap, the danger of someone coming up the stairs or the elevator doors opening. Ok, that was not an image that he was ever going to forget and never wanted to.

Jack kissed him as his breath started fluctuating a little. “Still can?”

Nathan’s eyes flickered over his face and he swallowed hard. “Dinner?”

“Oh, Dr. Stark you really like to push those boundaries don’t you?” Jack said and licked his lips at the thought of having Nathan clutching the arm rests of that plush office chair and trying not to grab his hair or pull his hair out as the case may be. 

“Well, the Sheriff's Department does have an open door policy if you want me to return the favor?” Nathan asked. "Feel bad I didn't take care of you."

“Oh, you’re going to bring me dinner _ and dessert _ .” Jack said and rested his chin on Nathan’s chest. “It’s less fun in my office because Jo is already expecting to walk in on it. Unless you want to let me...”

“No handcuffs.”

“Mmmmm.” Jack pouted. “OK, well, I’ll bring dinner to your office when I pick you up from work.”

“Ok.”

“No, loaner car?”

“Oh.” Nathan said. He forgot about that. Still had to get one of those. Brain still wasn't working. 

“Wow, I really have stopped your brain.” Jack laughed. “So, while you’re agreeable how about we go back to GD and get those reports on my dead guy?”

“I want to tell you so much, Jack.” Nathan admitted as Jack smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. “I want to tell you everything but the level of security I am dealing with will not allow it.”

“I get it.” Jack said. He understood what 'classified' meant. He’d figure it out. Nathan wasn’t trying to hide anything, he was just doing his job. Jack had been that guy and he had to remember that he was no longer _that guy_. He missed his job, but this one was really growing on him.

“Thanks.” Nathan said and pulled him close and kissed his forehead. “We should eat lunch or S.A.R.A.H.’s going to be upset.”

Jack sat up and Nathan tugged on his shirt. “Change your mind already? Ready for another round?”

“No...ready for honesty.” Nathan said. “I...don’t have a medical examiner who can do the autopsy on a Section Five guy. He’s out of town at a conference.”

“Henry’s _ the coroner _ .” Jack said. 

“Town coroner. He is not a physician. He’s an elected official versus a professionally trained medical examiner. Same boat I’m in with medical technician training, a degree in biochemistry, but I’m not a pathologist. Which is required to do an autopsy. We're a government facility. We have to do things right.” Nathan said and realized he was speaking in short choppy sentences. Jack might have sucked his brain out. “Required section five clearance as well.”

“So, no sharing of autopsy results?” Jack said. “Because  _ you’re not going to do one _ .”

“Not right now.” Nathan said and rubbed his hand over his face. “I’m not being an asshole about this, Jack. I’m following the rules because we have strict protocols about everything. Global Dynamics may seem like we’re lax on things but we really do have a system in place for when things go wrong. It’s just….for _after_ they go wrong.”

“So what happens to our dead guy?” Jack asked. 

“Cold storage.” Nathan replied. “I can...get you MRIs, X-Rays, get you a name off the chip. I can’t get you a full autopsy right now.” 

“Can’t call in a district M.E. either because of the clearance.” Jack sighed and turned to look at him. “Your job pisses me off.”

“Sorry.” Nathan said. “I will share the results when I get them.”

“What would it take to get Henry certified to do it?” Jack asked. “Or Allison?”

“A clearance level I am not willing to give to either.” Nathan said and Jack looked surprised. “Yeah, Ally is a medical doctor and she is D.O.D. liaison but she is _a liaison_ and doesn’t have full access to Global projects. As director I am the only one who can go to Section 5 unrestricted and give access to people to go there.”

“What about Henry?”

“Henry doesn’t want access. He doesn’t want to work at Global.” Nathan said and shook his head. “He doesn’t believe that we should provide what we do to the military and section 5 is mostly military projects. I'd actually love to bring him in on one project in particular but...won't happen.”

“OK.” Jack said. He’d just have to work with what he had. “Well, let’s share some lunch and then I’ll take you back to work.” 

“You believe me, right?” Nathan asked.

“Yes. I believe you’re amazing at your job and I’m pretty convincing with my _ job _ .” Jack said and slapped his bare thigh. “So get your pants back on and let’s eat. We both have work to get back to. I have to work a little different angle now that I can’t have what I need to solve the case. That’s fine. I’ll find a way.”

“Jack, that way is always going to lead you to Section 5.” Nathan said and Jack stood up and picked up his gun belt off his desk. “I can’t…”

“Ah, it’s need to know.” Jack waved him off. “You don’t need to know.”

“So this is how we make it all work?” Nathan asked. "Plauisble deniability?"

“With me kissing you to shut you up and giving you a blow job to get access to stuff?” Jack shrugged as he put on his belt. “I mean...why not? Guess church didn’t cure me of my slutty, slutty ways afterall.”

“I meant the chess game.” Nathan said and Jack’s smile lit up a little brighter. “You and me ,working on opposite sides of this board, and it’s about the game not the opponent?” 

“You like a challenge.” Jack said and grinned. “And I love to _ give it to you _ .”

“I love you.” Nathan said and stood up, realizing how ridiculous he looked with pants around his ankles and still fully dressed, even still wearing his damned overcoat. He pulled Jack over to him by his belt and kissed him. “I love you so much and I...I want to find a way to tell you everything without putting you in danger or compromising you.”

“Eh, where's the fun in that?” Jack said and gently buttoned up Nathan's top shirt button and snugged his tie up. Nathan could figure out his own pants situation because there was no way to get him into boxer briefs without manhandling his giant dick into the underwear and he was already needing to hit the bathroom to hake care of things himself. “I like a challenge too.”

“I’m going to change.” Nathan said and kissed him again. He reached down and ran his hand over Jack's unattended to erection, feeling bad he was going to have to jerk himself off because his husband lost brain and motor function from the best blowjob of his life. "Are you sure I can't..." 

“Wear something less...stainable for dinner? Wool does not hide things well. Polyester, however...” Jack said and backed away and ran his hand over his shirt showing the benefits of the generic uniform material, but he managed to push his badge into his injured nipple during his illustrative fashion show. “ _ Son of a bitch _ .”

Nathan wished he had a picture of _this_ : him with his pants on the ground and dick hanging out and Jack hunched over cupping his breast from accidentally touching his injured tit. This was them, not that barbecue picture. He had to remember that and remember how he cherished this image more than anything: This chaos, this nonsense, _this man_.

"Ok, that killed the erection.." Jack groaned and winced and reconsidered. "Ok, maybe not...I'll be right back." 

Nathan rolled his eyes. "We really need to talk about your health insurance, especially with your tendency to _enjoy_ a little pain."

"A _little_!?" Jack hollered from the stairs and kept yelling as he quickly made his way to the bathroom. "You severed _my nipple_ with your teeth! You slapped my ass so hard your handprint is a brand on my ass! You pulled my hair out! I think the back of my throat has bruises and abrasions from that fire hose between your legs! Nothing about you is _little_!"

Nathan listened as the door to the bathroom closed and things went quiet. He looked at his watch to determine if he had the time to get dressed and go down to give Jack a helping hand but they both knew he didn't know the meaning of a 'quick handjob'. Plus there would be more biting and probably in a more visible location, and they had been visible enough about their sex life today. So...time for a suit change and lunch, then back to work. He had to plot and plan for dinner because he wasn't going to be the one sitting at his desk writhing around in his chair and it would take some moves to put Jack in the position to be taken like that. It was his move now. 


	63. The Best Offense is a Good Defense

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 63

**Best Offence is a Good Defense**

* * *

“So there won’t be an autopsy because the GD pathologist is out of town.” Jack said as he walked back in his office after dropping off Nathan at GD and dropping off Nathan’s clothes at the dry cleaners because it was ‘his fault they were stained’. Jo just smiled at him and kept working on some reports, presumably about the crime scene. Jo was pretty chill, but maybe she was just tired? She and Taggart probably hiked through the woods looking for evidence. Oh well, good for him, he wasn’t going to get teased about his lunch break. “By then, whatever is going on can escalate or maybe it will be too late to prove anything.”

“It’s out of your hands.” Jo said with a casual shrug.

“There’s got to be something we can do.” Jack said and took his coat off and studied her as she worked. Nothing. Not a hint of question about how things were ‘coming along’ with Nathan or if he enjoyed ‘capturing that piece’ or one of the millions of other available innuendo remarks. Huh. She looked….content. Maybe hiking through the woods was her happy place?

“Stark’s head honcho up at Global Dynamics, no matter what effect you seem to have on his head.” Jo reminded him. “I told you, he says jump and they say ‘what trajectory’. You can’t force his hand about the autopsy, because he’s right. It's protocol. It's the law.”

“Yeah, well. Screw that.” Jack said, but there was no venom in it. Just a statement of frustration with the way things were done.

“You just did and that didn’t get us anywhere.” Jo said. “He’s probably saying the same thing about you, just in Latin.”

“Well his Latin is not as good as Henry’s.” Jack said. “Look, you saw the body, right? What the hell does _that_?”

“According to Tag, Big Foot.” She answered. “But, unless we can show evidence of a crime, you don’t have much of a choice.”

"Tag?" Jack asked. Did Jo just smile a little as she said that? _ Oh my god! “ _ You mean... _Taggart_!?”

“Well it’s a good thing my Latin and and prototypes are better than Nathan’s.” Henry said as he walked into the Sheriff’s office. Jack seemed like he was frozen in a state of confusion so he held up his ‘pen’ to show he was talking about science.

“Is this a ‘pen is mightier’ situation?” Jo asked. “As opposed to the penis is mightier?”

"Funny." Jack said and she laughed.

“It’s a portable magnetic resonance imager." Henry explained. " I did a quick scan while you and Nathan were arguing. It was half finished when Nathan ordered me to stop.”

“Oh, so that’s what he was talking about.” Jack said and shook off his shock. Jo and Taggart...kinda worked. Apparently they didn’t work on lunch either. However, he finally caught up with what Henry was offering. “Wait. So Nathan knew you were scanning the body?”

“Yeah, he’s aware.” Henry said. “We’ve known each other long enough to know each other’s plays.”

“But the GD crew didn’t take _your pen_ as evidence?” Jack said and wondered if this was Nathan’s way of covering both their asses? 

“Nope.” Henry said. “We don’t have a body but we do have a darn good three-dimensional representation.”

Jack watched him click and shake the pen at his desk. He couldn’t help but feel like maybe he wasn’t reading Nathan’s plays as clearly as he thought. This was too much evidence if he was truly trying to hide what happened out there in the woods. This was just like the surveillance feed thing, where a huge security issue was actually Nathan’s way of letting a situation work itself out. Nathan was leaving two separate roads for them to travel so they could cover all their bases. He shook his head. Nathan was amazing, it was second nature for a guy that smart to leave the ‘backdoor’ available if he needed it. And do to the nature of their relationship, that backdoor was trusted to him and him alone. Wow. He married one hell of a guy.

Henry smacked the pen on the desk. It beeped and then it produced a 3D image of the body. Well, a poorly rendered one. Both Jack and Jo reacted to it as if it was an actually juicy body slapped on Jack’s desk. Henry laughed. "And there we go!"

“Henry, I could kiss you.” Jack smiled at him and looked at the hologram body on his desk and it was a little too real for his tastes. S.A.R.A.H. had a similar 3D imaging ability, he wondered if that was just the technology available or if it was something shared in the Deacon-Stark-Fargo mentor pool. “But maybe we should move it to Jo’s desk.”

Henry smiled as Jack took his coffee cup out of the virtual body. “I’m running a reconstructive algorithm, just to sort-of fill in the gaps.”

“How long before we get a full image?” Jo asked.

“Sooner than he’ll get clearance to autopsy a Section Five researcher’s body.” Jack said and sipped his coffee and glanced at Henry. “Unless you want me to get you clearance? I know a guy, got him wrapped around my finger.”

Henry laughed as Jack raised his hand and tapped his wedding ring. He shook his head, although he knew the offer must have come from Nathan at some point. “A few hours, maybe less, once I get it back to the garage I can boost the processing power.”

“Ok, in the meantime, Jo and I…” Jack went for his jacket but was interrupted by his Deputy.

“Jo and I are going to finish my gun test so I’m not without a proper firearm if one of Taggart’s mythical beasts jumps us in the woods?” Jo finished his statement for him and raised her eyebrows. “Something other than that mythical beast you like to jump that you call your husband?”

“Yeah, I guess we have put off that test.” Jack said. Best to do it while she was in a good mood. 

“You have.” She said and Henry waved as he left. “So let’s get started before we have another emergency.”

“Yeah, gun test.” Jack said. Not much time for a quick study session. He even had S.A.R.A.H. make him a quick cheat sheet for him to glance over before he took the test again. He pulled the card out of his chest pocket anyway, just to see how much he could absorb before Jo figured out he had a visual flash card. Unfortunately he pulled it out too fast and snagged his injured nipple _ again. _ “SHIT!.”

Jo hit the button and dropped the gun case down. She thought he was anxious about the test but he kept rubbing his own chest and grimacing. “Why do you keep groping yourself?”

“Nathan….got a little carried away last night and my nipple is a little worse for wear. I smacked it again at lunch and it started to bleed and dammit that hurts.” Jack reached over for his coffee, the one that was inside of the 3D corpse a few minutes ago and took a nice long swig to just his mind back on business.

“Been there.” She said. “Callister used to get a little too carried away with the teeth too. They didn’t have a thing when they worked together did they? You know, like Fargo wishes he had with his boss?”

Jack had  _ just swallowed _ a bit of coffee as she said that and immediately began choking on it. Nathan and Callister had the same little ‘kink’ which meant that Nathan shared a lot more in his programming than just ‘magic’. Oh my God, Jo slept with a robot who had Nathan's sex knowledge built into it!!  _ OH MY GOD! _ Jo slept with Nathan’s robot son who was just like his Dad and she just implied they might have _been a thing_!?! He couldn’t say no because he was choking, all he could do was vehemently shake his head ‘no’ while he coughed and gasped for breath.

“Ok.” She said and was surprised at his absolutely horrified reaction. “Just figured Stark had a thing for blonds.”

Jack coughed harder, hard enough to almost puke up the coffee and everything else in his stomach. Sheer determination kept it down because the thought of someone getting sperm samples out of his trash pissed him off more than anything. He took a few minutes to recover and when he did Jo was waiting by the gun rack for him. He tried to act casual when he asked, “So... _Tag_?”

Jo looked at him as he wiped his eyes from almost dying from coffee. Like Fudgey. “Yeah. He wanted to discuss his pack dynamics and he needed a ride back to his place.”

“Good for you.” Jack said, hoarsely, but with sincerity. He could see she wasn’t sure about the move, despite being the most confident woman he had ever met. “Seems like a good guy.”

“He is.”

“You two have a lot in common.”

“Yeah.”

“Good.” Jack said and squeezed her shoulder. “Any chance he plays baseball?”

She smiled at him. “Sorry, we already started forming our team and he’s my pitcher.”

“Oh.” Jack said. “So it’s going to be like that, huh?”

“I’m told that too many Alphas in a pack will cause problems.” She said and grabbed a gun and handed it to him. “So I’m forming my own team and you can have yours.”

“Well.” Jack said and she seemed to be a lot more comfortable with the fact that something had just started with Taggart. “Let’s play ball then.”

“First you break that down and show me what you've got.” 

“Deal.” Jack said and held up the gun and said. "First off, this is a BMFG Liquidator and we do not break it down or it breaks us down."

"Very good." She said and was happy to hear him repeat her words, it meant he really did listen to her. "Run me through the settings and the only approved reasons for using them."

"I am so glad you asked." Jack said and smiled because he felt like maybe he did absorb more information than he realized. Maybe he would pass the test this time!


	64. Results Are In

_Dissolved_

Chapter 64

**Results Are In**

* * *

Jack pulled up to Henry’s Garage and the Jeep's transfer case reminded him that it was being overused by adding a little smoke to it’s noise complaints. He looked out his window at the tell tale sign that he had been using 4x4 for too long, a little bit of bluish smoke was coming from underneath the vehicle. He opened up his door and the very distinct odor of burnt gear oil greeted him. Well shit. 

“Jeep acting up, Sheriff?” Spencer asked as he came out to see if someone needed gas.

“I put it in 4 wheel drive last week and it’s been stuck there ever since.” Jack admitted. If he wrecked his car by just driving it in the wrong gear, Nathan was going to never let him forget it. Shit shit shit! 

“I doubt Sheriff Cobb ever used it.” Spencer said and wiped his hands on a rag out of his pocket. “I’ll take a look while you’re talking to Henry.”

“Thanks, Spencer.” Jack said and tossed him his keys. “I appreciate it.”

“Least I can do, Sheriff. I really appreciate what you did for me last week.” Spencer said and got in the Jeep to see what he could do about the problem.

Jack smiled at the kid. Yeah this town wasn’t so bad at all. “No problem, maybe lay off the pirated movies?”

“It’s Noir night this week.” Spencer offered. “If you’re on call?”

“Aww…tempting.” Jack said. “But, Zoe’s play is this Friday. Lucky for me I get my fill of crime drama and handsome, sexualized versions of moral ambiguity in a trench coat in dealing with my husband and his job all week.”

“He’s welcome too.” Spencer said. “No hard feelings.”

Jack wondered if Nathan ever got an invitation like that before. Nathan chilling in Spencer's trailer on a Friday night watching a movie was hard to imagine. “I’ll take a raincheck. Jo’s on call this weekend, but I’ve got the week after?”

“Cool.” Spencer said and closed the door to take the Jeep for a test drive to see what he could do. He rolled down the window. “I’ll tell Vincent to make some extra food. Movie to be determined, but I’ll make it loud to make sure you know when to show up.”

Jack watched his Jeep back up, and Spencer flashed some kinda light at the floor. He chose to walk away when he heard grinding. He went into Henry's shop and found him at his desk working on some kind of simulation. He had headphones and glasses on, so it might be virtual reality? Crime scene investigation here was so much cooler than anywhere else. “So, any idea how our body ended up as an offering to the Swamp Thing?”

Henry looked up from his computer and hollered,”Fire in the hole!”

Jack wondered if that was some kind of science principle or…if the body got boiled by a geyser and spit out into the trees.

Henry looked at his screen and pressed a button, initiating the experiment and launching a ballistics dummy at a car panel. Then he saw flailing, took off his goggles and headphones and realized Jack had walked in not realizing he was walking in on an experiment. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I can’t hear  _ anything _ .” Lesson, learned. 'Fire in the hole' was universal for ‘I’m firing a gun of some kind and you should cover your ears or take cover.’ He shook his head to try and get his hearing back.

Henry pulled out a pen light and flashed his pupils to make sure they were reacting properly. A concussive blast like that could give him a concussion. 

“Ok, now I’m blind.” Jack said and squeezed his eyes shut. “Again.”

“Sorry about that.” Henry said and Jack opened his eyes and looked around and focused on the result of his experiment, plastered all over the side of a car door and the head of a dummy stuck in the wall.

“Henry, whatcha doin'?”

“Working on a hunch.” Henry explained. “A hypothesis on how our guy died and it wasn’t Big Foot.”

“Wow.  _ Really _ ?” Jack said and put his finger in his ear to stop it from ringing. “Did you double check the results because I find that hard to believe. Taggart will be devastated."

Henry chuckled and went over to pick up his dummy head as it fell off the wall and bounced over to them. “Our guy, tripped.”

“Like he was _tripping_?” Jack asked. “On some kinda drug that...makes you turn into that gross Jell-O stuff my Aunt Cathy used to make that had vegetables in it? That shredded carrot and orange Jell-O thing she made was probably the only thing more disgusting than our John Doe's body. ”

“No, as in he tripped on the road surface to grass transition, and spiraled out of control into the woods.” Henry said and looked at the damage to his test dummy head and then plugged it into the computer.

“Ok.” Jack said. “You lost me. Some guy was running off the road and tripped and exploded through the forest, breaking every bone in his body as he tumbled down the hill?”

“Yes.” Henry said. “The question is:  _ why _ did he cross the road?”

“Better question?" Jack pointed to the car door. "Why are you testing what happens if our guy gets blasted into a car? Did a car hit him?”

“No, I think  _ he _ hit a car.” Henry said.

“At what? 500 miles an hour?” Jack asked with a laugh.

“At 588 miles per hour, actually.” Henry said and Jack's smile vanished as he considered that this was a genuine scientific discussion going on here and how ludicrous it all was. “I think he hit a car, injured himself in the collision, sprinted away from the scene riding on adrenaline and whatever superpower he was tapping into, running with a broken limb that was throwing off his balance, then tripped and hit the woods at full speed and ricocheted off of the unbreakable tree trunks and pulverized himself on the way down the hill.”

Jack squinted at him. “Are  _ you _ tripping?”

“No.” Henry said and pointed to his computer. “I’ve done numerous simulations.”

“I can’t believe Big Foot sounds more plausible than this.”

“Well...Big Foot might have some involvement in this too.” Henry said. “Or rather Big  _ Lead _ Foot.”

“Oh  _ no _ .” Jack said realizing where this was going now. He looked over at the panel of the car that was being used to test the impact of the dummy. “Tell me that’s not a piece of Nathan’s car you’re using.”

“It is. It's the passenger side panel that was relatively unharmed in the collision.” Henry said and pointed to the computer to show Jack the simulation. He pressed play. “I’ve done mechanical augmentation. I’ve done temporal manipulation. I’ve done biological enhancement. Only one theory makes sense. Someone or something turned our guy into the roadrunner.”

“And the chances that this was who was involved in Nathan’s accident?” Jack asked and really didn’t want the answer. 

Henry rubbed his eyes. “I already ran that through the simulation and it’s very possible. However I don’t believe from the damage to the BMW or the man’s body, that the car hit our guy. I couldn’t make sense of the damage on the side of the car, I believe Nathan was right when he said he was hit by  _ something _ . Well, I think something was actually  _ someone _ .”

“How?” Jack asked. “ _How_ is any of this possible? Some guy is the roadrunner, cruising along to work on Old Post Road and plays Mario Cart with Nathan’s car because it’s the only other thing going that fast on the road? Or at all! Nathan left early! He was the only car out there. Or was this Jo’s jogging partner and he was just pissed he had to share the road with someone who didn’t slow down, so he zipped over and shoved him off the road into tree? That I might believe. I'd believe Jo could zip over there and shove Nathan of the road, I've been there. Small but scrappy.”

“Jack, I only have a theory.” Henry said. “And a simulation if you care to watch it?”

“OK.” Jack said with a nod and Henry pressed slow-mo play. There was a dude running like an anime character and along came Nathan. The guy reached out a hand and it was enough to send Nathan into the ditch and tree. The guy stumbled and his arm looked like it became one of those wiggly worm things car dealerships used to advertise big sales. Then the roadrunner guy stopped and looked at the car and sprinted off in the wrong direction, zig zagging on the road a little because of the broken arm? Well that made sense, because at high speed even a little something off balance could throw off travel. Then the guy went up Cornelius Loop, stumbled and crashed through the trees. “ _What did I just watch!?_ ”

“I don’t have any evidence to back this up.” Henry reminded him. “All the data I have is the 3D model, readings on the damage to the trees and time of Nathan’s accident. The trees are what I have to go on for the time of death since I don’t, and won’t , have a body to examine. It’s a very similar time frame. The simulator will not spit out any other possibilities.” 

“Shit.” Jack said and ran his hands through his hair. “Nathan's involved. I gotta recuse myself from the case. Let Jo investigate this one.”

“Jack, Cobb never let her investigate anything on her own.” Henry said. “And we truly do need to still investigate this one because we have no evidence.”

“Nathan’s my husband! This could be vehicular homicide! Jo already ticketed him for failure to control and his car is smashed up. It's a conflict of interest for me because he’s a person of interest in this case! ” Jack said and ran his hand through his hair. "Theory or not, I am biased and compromised and shouldn't be investigating."

“I really don’t believe Nathan hit him.” Henry said and grabbed Jack’s arm as he panicked over the thought of having to arrest his husband for murder. “You’re leaping to a conclusion that is rational, but the situation has too many irrational variables. Nathan didn’t do this. He was a victim of an accident.”

“Really!?” Jack asked. “In what universe does a human being shove a car going 90 mph off the road with just one hand? Marvel?”

“Jack.” Henry said softly. “Calm down.”

“We have evidence…” Jack said and pointed at the BMW. 

“Yes, we do. We have evidence Nathan _did not_ hit him! That man would have been splattered all over the car and road had Nathan hit him.” Henry said and Jack nodded, thinking more clearly now. 

“We need evidence. Maybe there is something in the car we didn’t see, evidence wise, because we weren’t looking for something that wasn’t there? Because I wrote off the accident as him losing control at speed and didn’t believe him?” Jack said and looked at Nathan’s car. “Since evidence of what condition the body _ wasn’t in _ isn’t all that great of evidence? People fall out of planes and survive, human bodies do weird things.”

“Right.” Henry said and made sure Jack was not rushing to a conclusion that the evidence was not providing. “You still want to step back from this one? Should I call Jo?”

“Uh.” Jack put his hands in his pockets. “As Forensics, you can check the car for evidence right? I’m not influencing anything. I won’t take possession of any evidence.”

“I can.” Henry said and pressed a button on his computer, a blue light started scanning Nathan's car from above. “Are you going to be OK?”

“Yeah.” Jack said and rubbed the back of his neck. “Just...had a bit too much experience with an accident ruining people’s lives. I can’t stand the thought of something like that happening to him. He doesn’t see it, he doesn’t see how it can all vanish in the blink of an eye. Your whole life just dissolves in front of you and you spend the rest of your days asking yourself what happened. Replaying it and blaming yourself.” 

“Never hurts to remind someone you love how incomplete the world would be without them.” Henry said as the computer worked through it’s scan.

Jack leaned on the desk and played with the test dummy head. He took a few minutes to get his head back in the game and then asked, “Is that why you're stepping down as Mayor?". 

"Part of it. I would like to spend time with Kim. I can't do that when I'm the man everyone runs to to complain about GD and each other." 

"You’re the guy I run to when I need answers." Jack said and bit his lip. “While complaining about my husband.”

"I enjoy that, actually. You learn, you enjoy learning. I enjoy teaching." Henry said and leaned on the desk. “I enjoyed teaching him.”

“What changed?”

“He decided he needed to protect science with politics instead of changing the world.” Henry said. “He could have done anything, Jack.  _ Anything _ . Instead he wasted himself on management.”

Jack looked up as the computer started making a beeping sound. Apparently he was going to have to wait on the background story of how Nathan went astray. “What’s wrong with the computer?”

"It found some biological material.". Henry said and went over to examine the area the computer identified. "There should be something around the bumper or wheel well."

"Was our guy missing any body parts?" Jack asked.

"It was hard to tell.". Henry said and pulled what looked like flesh and bone out of the crushed bumper. He looked it over to try and figure out what it used to be. “Perhaps a finger?” 

"So...how does this work? Our guy is running fast down the middle of the road and gives Nathan the finger as he passes him, only to catch it on the car by accident?" Jack asked skeptically.

“If he hit him.". Henry's said. "Going as fast as he was going? Yes a man’s hand could have hit with enough force to send the car off the road. The impact would have severed the finger as easily as cutting it with a laser. He probably broke his hand and most of his arm doing this."

“Either he was a sloppy runner.” Jack said. “Or he screwed up by taking the chance to flip off Nathan.”

“Or miscalculated his own speed and timing." Henry replied. "Or Nathan's speed."

"Do we have any evidence?". Jack asked again. Jack just couldn’t stand the thought that Nathan might be blamed for this. "Other than a simulation?" 

"Well, this finger isn’t going to be much help, ID wise.; no fingerprints from something this mangled.” Henry said and came back to the desk. “However it will be something I can test to find out what this guy was taking.”

“How possible is this that it _wasn’t_ an accident?” Jack asked and Henry cocked his head and put the finger in some kinda dish to zap with science rays of knowledge. He was already onto motive. If evidence was slim to none he was going to have to fall back on what he knew: people. “Like, maybe he meant to push Nathan off the road and cause an accident to buy himself time on some project? Or maybe he was going to get fired today and just needed a little more time to figure out what he was working on to save his job and career?”

“Jack, anyone capable of manufacturing a way to run 588 mph is going to understand the limits of the human body when it’s applied to something like a car going at that speed.”

“Maybe he was tired? Not thinking clearly and took a huge risk? If you could run 500 miles an hour, would you be up  _ before dawn _ to get to work?” Jack asked. “Nathan’s brain works faster than that and he had to get up early to add more time into his day to do all his work. So some guy from Section 5, working on some project that Nathan is suddenly focused on….would probably be pushing himself pretty hard in addition to running kinda hard. Like maybe sleep deprived and a little cranky about the new Director asking for results that the old director wasn’t pushing for? There are a lot of deadlines that have been passed or are looming, if Nathan’s grumbling is any indicator of how things are going up there.”

“Very possible.” Henry said. “Section 5 is very competitive and Dr. King was a little lax.”

“So the question is: are they making drugs to work faster on something or are they on something that is a drug they are making?”

Henry turned his eyes back to the computer and brought up the analysis program. Next he took a sample off the finger and placed it on a slide and put it under the microscope then brought that up on the computer display. “Here. Check this out.”

Jack looked at a cell and nodded. He had no idea what he was looking at. “Oh yeah. Looks...speedy.”

Henry smiled. He appreciated Jack’s way of participating. “See how, when I probe the tissue how the ADP/ATP ratio is out of equilibrium?”

“First thing I noticed.” Jack said and Henry chuckled. 

Henry switched back to the analysis screen. “Not only that but this guy has highly elevated levels of cyclopentano-perhydrophenanthrene.”

Jack smiled and nodded. Henry sounded so excited when he said it and he realized how dogs felt when you talked to them in a happy voice despite calling them fucking idiots who chased their tails. 

“He’s been juicing.” Henry summarized.

“With what?” Jack laughed. “Rocket fuel? Or that stuff Nathan uses to power his grill?”

“I don’t know, but you won’t find it in Barry Bond’s locker.” Henry said and Jack lit up some more at the baseball reference. “You might, however, find it in Section 5. I’ll know more when I isolate the compound.”

“OK.” Jack said and scrubbed his face and hair with his hands. What to do, what to do? “So, someone is literally on speed. What signs do I look for other than them wearing a red suit with a lightning bolt on it?”

“Besides running at almost 600 miles per hour?” Henry asked. 

“I got a radar gun for that.” Jack said. “Maybe.”

“Well. Appetite. Extreme thirst.” Henry said. “Any drug that would increase the metabolic rate this much requires  _ massive _ amounts of electrolytes, simple and complex carbohydrates.”

Jack snapped his fingers and smiled. “Henry, you are a rock star.”

“I’m not really giving you much to go on.”

“Can I borrow your wonder pen?” Jack asked.

“Sure.” Henry pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to him. “Where are you going?”

“To grab a little lunch.” Jack said with a grin.

“ _Again_?” Henry asked.

“Well…” Jack’s smile faded and he saw Henry’s grin. “Nathan had some electrolyte imbalances last week and he’s kinda underweight and activity wise...he’s been getting a workout. Gotta make sure he doesn’t pass out again like he did last time.”

“If anyone can make him take two lunches, it will be you.”

“Yes. I do have a healthy appetite and he is very good about seeing that I get what I want.” Jack said and spun on his heels. “Thanks for this, Henry!” 

“Have fun.” Henry said and went back to work. 


	65. A Healthy Apetite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I was sorry about this whale thing, and I swear I didn't plan this, it just all came together. ;)
> 
> And it's Eureka so....why not! And you guys have been with me for 65 chapters so y'all are buckled in for this ride already.

Sort of inspired by this Imageset:  [ https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/187924811126  ](https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/187924811126)

Something about Jack casually leaning on surfaces and Nathan looking at him from his desk, unmoving, with just those eyes saying everything.....well it just pleases me.

I am updating everyday although it seems A03 might not be sending out notifications everyday? So if you didn't get a serving one day I promise it's here.

* * *

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 65

**A Healthy Appetite**

* * *

“Hey! You up for another lunch?”

“Jack…” Nathan almost dropped his coffee as he turned to see his husband bounding up the stairs to his office. His heart began to race at the mere thought that Jack was coming here for another  _ lunch date.  _ “ _ Now _ !?”

Jack grinned as he saw how rattled Nathan was and heard the excited squeak in his voice. Who knew his intimidating husband who could shake the whole office with his booming voice could get his vocal cords so tied up in knots that he could squeak like that? “Actually I was planning on eating something but I guess if you want me to eat…”

Nathan stretched out his arm and placed his finger on Jack’s lips. Hearing Jack say it would destroy any resolve he had. “I can’t.”

Jack smiled deviously and raised his eyebrows.

“I  _ can _ but...” Nathan took his finger back as Jack opened his mouth to try and suck it! God dammit this man was going to end him! “Jack! I  _ have _ to work!”

“I mean.” Jack put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, innocent smile on his face, and said, “Nothing’s stopping you from working while I... _ work _ .”

Nathan took a deep breath and had to walk away. “What is with you today? Is this you making an issue of the sperm thing? Are you going to blackmail me by taking time I don’t have to spare to make me pay you to stop distracting me?” 

Jack laughed and Nathan turned to look at him instead of sitting down. “That’s a brilliant idea!”

“Oh please, don’t.” Nathan begged. 

“I really am here to take you to lunch. Since it’s lunch time. We can eat here. Sample the GD cafeteria food.” Jack said and walked past his skeptical husband and went to the window of his office and looked down at everyone milling about in the lobby. “And inspire the masses by eating with them. People love to see their boss joining them in the trenches.”

“What is this  _ really  _ about?” Nathan asked as he sat down and sipped his coffee as Jack looked oddly seductive as he leaned against the window and watched people. He smiled as he drank his coffee and drank in the sight of the beautiful man he was married to. “Are you checking to see if the windows will darken? Because,  they will .”

“Eh.” Jack shrugged. “They wouldn't be able to see me under your desk from any angle, looking in. I’m not worried about someone walking in, they're terrified of you. You should be more worried about our house, I’m pretty sure S.A.R.A.H. watches us so….Fargo probably has too.”

“Yeah, I took over that project.” Nathan said and set down his coffee to pick up his tablet. “He’ll get read in when I want him to know about his SmartHouse.”

“You.. _ what _ ?” Jack turned and looked at him . “You took Fargo’s  _ house _ ?!? That’s like taking away his puppy, that he selectively bred because he wanted to make you happy with a weird designer dog. Why are you so damned mean to him!”

“No, I didn’t take Sparky, I took S.A.R.A.H.”

“Who the hell is Sparky!?” Jack asked and came over and leaned on his desk. “And why would you take her from him? Nathan...she literally has  _ his _ voice and I only half believe she is A.I. and not just Fargo operating things like a special effects department from the other side of the wall.”

“I took control because she is looking for Callister and Fargo will see that in her logs.” Nathan said and leaned back in his chair and enjoyed the view of Jack smiling at him. He was leaning over his desk now, one arm resting on the desk and the other on his hip. Sleeves rolled up revealing his very nice forearm definition. He sighed. They were going to get caught fucking in here way  _ way  _ too much.

“Did you at least bullshit some good excuse or just walk in like you did to  _ my  _ crime scene and bark ‘pack it up, mine now!’”

Nathan smiled at him. He loved how Jack mimicked him. He shouldn’t but…he loved his take on everything. Even if it meant mocking him. ”No. I told him he was too busy with multiple projects and needed to focus on one if he ever wanted to get anywhere.”

“Projecting much?”

“So maybe I see a little of me in him.”

Jack snorted. “Yeah, you’re not little and I’m sure he sees a lot of you  _ in him _ too-- In his dreams or edited videos.”

Nathan smirked. “S.A.R.A.H. is real and she doesn’t watch us in the bedroom. I made sure of that after we were filmed together on our first night in the bunker.”

“Speaking of good times when you were being haunted by Ghosts of Eureka’s Past,” Jack said and reached out and took his hand. “Let’s go get some lunch so you don’t have another electrolyte imbalance and pass out.”

Nathan tugged on his hand and almost pulled him across the desk. “Why? What are you trying to get out of me if not my sperm?”

“Well.” Jack looked up at the clock on the wall. “It’s actually lunch time now, so we should eat.”

“We already ate plenty.” Nathan said and squeezed his hand in a pulsating manner to show he wasn’t just talking about food.

“Celebrate then!“ Jack said and that got a smirk out of him. “I passed my gun test!”

“About damned time.” Nathan drawled but started rubbing Jack's hand, letting his thumb massage his palm.

“I got my Jeep fixed.” Jack said knowing that was actually something that bothered Nathan. He narrowed his eyes at him and could see he didn’t believe that. “It  _ is _ fixed.” 

“OK.” Nathan said and let his thumb roll down to stroke the inside of Jack’s wrist. That area was a little more sensitive and the act was a little more positive reinforcement for doing what he asked. “So you deserve a treat for being responsible and taking care of the government property assigned to you?”

“Spencer fixed it for me as a favor for not letting you shoot him last week.”

“That’s worth celebrating?” 

“Most people like to celebrate  _ not being dead _ ?” Jack said and shook his head. Sometimes Nathan acted like people were a foreign concept. 

“So this is about Fudgey?” Nathan sighed and stopped rubbing his wrist. “You want to go to his ‘celebration of life’ lunch?”

Jack bit his lip. OK, so maybe people around here  _ were _ a foreign concept. “Sure?”

Nathan squeezed his hand. “What is it you  _ actually _ want if not ice cream cake and S.A.R.A.H.’s backlash for the calories in it?”

“I think there were drugs involved in John Doe’s death.” Jack said and tried to tug his hand back but Nathan wasn’t letting go, so he just gave in and laid over on the desk, put his elbow down and rested his head on his hand. He even wiggled his ass in the air as he smiled at him, just to top off the pin-up image. Might put him in a better mood, so why not. 

“What kind of drugs?” Nathan asked and appreciated the view and still refused to let go of Jack’s hand. He picked up his cup and sipped his coffee to show he wasn't going to give in to Jack’s seductive ways.

“The kind that make you run at Mach five?”

“Are you sure,  _ you’re  _ not on drugs?” Nathan asked with a smile as Jack rubbed on his hand with his cheek.

“Yes.” Jack said and batted his eyelashes for dramatic effect. “Just high  _ on you _ .”

“I love you but I really don’t have time for this.” Nathan said and finally let go of Jack’s hand so he could take his chin between his thumb and finger and sigh appreciatively of this man’s creativity, and ability to make him want to throw his responsibilities to the wind and just crawl on this desk right now and fuck him. Yeah, he was going to have to get this office cleaned a lot.

“What if I told you….” Jack said and Nathan waited on his words with an adorable smile and raise of his eyebrows. “That you... _ were right _ ?”

“Of course I was.” Nathan said. “That’s a given. Doesn’t matter what the topic is”

“About _ your accident _ ?” Jack said and Nathan’s eye’s lit up and suddenly a finger was tapping his lips.

“Go on.”

“You...were hit.” Jack said. 

“I was.”

“By a guy running 588 miles an hour who was trying to flip you off but ended up miscalculating how fucking fast you drive and hit your car with his hand instead. Severing his finger and leaving it behind, mashed up your dented car.”

“Wow, these conversations never go where I expect.” Nathan said and tapped the tip of Jack’s nose before taking his hand back and leaning back in his chair. 

“So you want to come to lunch with me so we can prove the hypothesis?” Jack asked as Nathan started swiveling in his chair. “Dr. Stark?”

“At lunch.” Nathan clarified. “In the cafeteria.”

Jack nodded as best he could with his head perched on his hand. “Yes. We’re going to sheriff out someone who is eating a massive amount of food.”

“At  _ lunch _ .” Nathan repeated and stopped swiveling. “In  _ the cafeteria. _ ”

“Yeah.” Jack grinned at him. 

“No more swallowing for you. Better spit out my seed like it's a sunflower shell from here on out.” Nathan said and shook his head. He picked up his tablet and began requesting lab supplies. “I’m going to have to check my damned semen to see if it’s capable of carrying excess caffeine into you. Goddammit, I don’t want to talk to Taggart about his Fudgey necropsy…”

“Wait. _ What _ ?” Jack asked as Nathan started tapping furiously on his tablet. He looked down at the tablet and saw he was actually scheduling a test for himself and then a ‘file’ opened on the desk underneath him on the inlaid computer screen. Fudgey’s file. It looked like a normal evidence file except that it had a picture of a whale on it instead of a human. Everything was upside down since he was laying on the desk but he still picked up important details. Specs about eye color, weight, race..wait. Sperm whale? Ok...that was probably just...just worth making a joke out of. Right? Maybe? Well....“Nathan? It’s not a  _ sperm _ whale as is 'the sperm I’m chasing after like my white whale'...is it? Just like Sperm Whale the breed, species….whale type?  _ Right _ ?”

“Don’t worry about it, you’re just going to have to learn to spit because I’m not laying off coffee.” Nathan said and quickly slid the file off the screen with a casual swipe and put his tablet down.

“Nathan!” Jack jumped up, the actual  _ paper _ work on the desk went flying as he went back to leaning on the desk instead of laying on it. “Tell me that this whale thing has  _ nothing _ to do with your sperm!”

“Let’s go to lunch.” Nathan said with an awkward smile. “Shall we? Have some cake?”

“Are you  _ shitting me? _ !” Jack exclaimed as Nathan spun around in his chair, stood up and quickly went over to the elevator. “Nathan! Don’t turn your back on me when we are talking about serious topics like your sperm and Fudgey!”

“Jack, please.” Nathan said as the door dinged and opened. “GD, has a serious drug problem and we need to put our marital issues aside for a little while. We still need to schedule another session with Beverly this week. Perhaps that will be a good time to discuss this? I’ll let you know when it will be. Are you coming?”

“Are  _ you _ !? In  _ a whale _ ?”

“No.” Nathan shook his head and stepped on the elevator. “The whale may have some of my genetic material due to it…”

Jack watched the door start to close and Nathan not stop the door from closing. Jack stood there with his mouth open as Nathan looked up at the floor indicator lights within the elevator then looked back at him with an apologetic smile and finished his sentence.

“Being  _ a sperm. _ ”

The doors shut and the elevator descended, leaving him alone in the office. Jack remained where he was. Leaning on the desk, mouth open and shocked. Nathan’s perfect  _ little  _ swimmer was actually a  _ not so little _ swimmer with a blow hole? The sperm whale was actually sperm!? OK, maybe he didn’t want to know about Fudgey anymore. 

No. He definitely needed to know and know _ right now _ ! 


	66. Creamy, Delicious Goodness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did not plan this whale thing and I wish I was sorry. But I am kinda proud of myself for making this up as I go and somehow using all the ridiculous groundwork I laid for this. And I will hate myself in a later chapter when I have to actually try to shitpost science an explanation, however that's FutureMe's problem.

_Dissolved_

Chapter 66 

**Creamy, Delicious Goodness**

* * *

  
  


“Are you going to be OK?” Nathan asked as he sat down with his piece of ice cream cake that was a tribute to Fudgey the Whale. He had a piece for Jack too and he placed it in front of his husband as a peace offering. Jack just sat there staring at him. “It’s ice cream.”

“Creamy?” Jack asked, bitterly as Nathan took a bite of cake. “ _Satisfying_?” 

“Jack…it’s not what you think.” 

“What iced _cream_ was used to make the cake? Yours?” Jack looked over at some people who were lighting candles as a tribute to Fudgey. It should have been a birthday cake, instead it was a memorial. Eureka made a literal _sperm whale_ and Fargo somehow killed it. Taggart had drums full of it’s remains in his lab. Everyone here knew the whale and mourned it’s loss. It was a sperm whale, made of sperm. Nathan’s. 

“Milk?” Nathan said and played with his napkin, he wasn’t sure what the ingredients were and was afraid to tell Jack to ask Vincent since Beverly had suggested he contact the chef about semen flavor profiles already. _So good_ to be back in Eureka. “Jack...”

“Not mine.” Jack said and leaned over the table and dipped his finger in the frosting-like whipped fudge stuff that topped the ice cream cake and tapped the glob of it onto Nathan’s nose. The fudge swirls on the cake kinda looked like Nathan's dark curls on his head? No....whales didn't have fur. “Yours. _Your sperm_ . Again, we come back to it being _everywhere._ Even the sealife. Semen, _seaman_ . God. I _hate_ this town.”

Nathan took his napkin and wiped the fudge off his nose. “Jack...”

“A whale?” Jack asked. “I know what sperm looks like and they don’t have a tale like a whale.”

“If you’d like to know more about Fudgey, I would say it’s best to ask his creator.” 

“I am!” Jack said and leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “You! You made the sperm. You’re like a Greek God with all the sperm you’re distributing among the masses. Bless the rains down in Eureka, as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the semen-getti.”

Nathan took a deep breath. Jack was now angrily quoting ‘Africa’ at him about sperm. There was a reason for that. It was a threat. Because they were supposed to dance to that at their wedding and there would not be a wedding if Jack was angry at him. God he wanted a wedding even if it would probably be ruined by Eureka somehow, he wanted his wedding. “Taggart….actually...”

“ _Oh no_ .” Jack said and unfolded his arms and leaned on the table again. “ _Taggart_ made him?”

“Yes and..”

Jack gasped as he remembered details now. Details that had been breadcrumbs along he way to this horrible, horrible discover. “With _your blessing_ because you told me you had to sign off on anyone’s research that used your stuff!”

“I told you Taggart had a sample.”

“You didn’t tell me he made Moby Dick!” Jack screamed.

“Jack.” Nathan said and pinched the bridge of his nose as everyone in the cafeteria stopped talking and gave Jack a nasty look for acting like Fudgey wasn’t a legend in his own right and needed to be compared to some lesser whale made famous by a mere book. “Please, handle this delicately. He was a much loved member of the community.” 

“Wait.” Jack said as the word ‘community’ made him recall when he was trying to save part of this community from Nathan and his crew of merry security guys with lots of guns a few days ago. “I was in Taggart’s lab. Those drums were filled with fat and meat and bone.”

Nathan rolled his eyes as Jack piped up to scream again.

“If he’s made of sperm, why was there _so much meat_?”

“Jack!” Nathan said and moved his chair around to Jack’s side of the table, very loudly, as the marine biology team began crying and hugging each other for support. Nathan took Jack’s hand and squeezed it, hard. “This is a sensitive topic, please lower your voice.”

“Give me answers or _give me sperm_.” Jack hissed.

“I’m not going to get into this here because you’re going to keep yelling and half my facility is going to be unable to work because they are so upset.” 

Jack glared at him. “I hate it here. I want to move.”

“Jack, ask Taggart.” Nathan said. “He has a way of explaining things that appeals to people in the way only an Australian animal enthusiast can.”

“With _enthusiasm_ ? In _Australian_?” Jack asked. 

“With a PowerPoint presentation read with a hushed whisper of Aussie awe." Nathan took Jack's hand and rubbed it, trying to win him over with affection since words were not working. 

“You really think that’s going to be the best way to go here? Taggart talking to me about specimens, while he cries on my shoulder for his beloved pet sperm whale? While I stare at the wall of a picture of you, naked, with a radiation sign over _your_ meat?” Jack asked. “That’s the dumbest idea you’ve ever had.”

Nathan saw Allison come into the cafeteria, obviously alerted to the disruption by someone upset enough to escalate things to D.O.D. level complaints. He wrapped his arm around his angry husband and Jack leaned away from him. “If you don’t quiet down, we are both going to be taking some sensitivity training together for your lack of decorum.”

Jack looked up at Allison as she stood by the stairs, with her arms crossed and a very ‘angry Mom’ look on her face. “Don’t care.”

“Do you really want more government imposed sessions with Beverly?”

Jack took a deep breath and turned his head to look at him. Nathan was being serious. He was going to get cited for being insensitive at a whale’s funeral for being upset about the dead whale being his husband’s sperm. “I. Hate. This. Town.” 

“No you don’t. We love it here and you don’t want this to go in your permanent file.” Nathan said sweetly and waved off Allison with a grin that said he had everything under control. She rolled her eyes and went to get herself some cake. 

“Do I really want to know how this happened?” Jack asked. 

“Ehhhh…” Nathan weighed that and then shook his head. “It’s just science, Jack. Leave it at that.”

“Like radiation? Like...Clifford the Giant Dog? Like...what? _What_ science?”

“There was a very concentrated batch of semen extender that Taggart was using for artificial insemination purposes….” Nathan quickly added. “He was not inseminating anything with my samples. He was actually trying to save a rare species by using A.I. and....”

“OK.” Jack waved his hand. “Can I just read the file because hearing it in your sexy science voice is not helping?”

“Sure.” Nathan said and smiled. “I’ll get it for you.”

“Wait. So it’s not classified? Are there research papers out there on this?”

“ _Maybe_.” Nathan said and glanced over at the remaining members of the marine biology team who were furiously scribbling down notes.

“Is that what my daughter is studying in biology?” Jack asked and the look on Nathan’s face said it was. “Son of a bitch! That’s why she said your little swimmers could _survive the ocean!_?”

“It’s _Marine_ Biology 101, Jack.” Nathan said. “Do you read _anything_? It's written on the cover of her textbook.”

“Why is this my fault!” Jack asked. “What kind of fresh hell is this? Why do I have to ask my kid if she’s implying that your sperm can defeat Godzilla if we only allowed it to swim out to sea? What _the fuck_!”

Nathan put his hand over his mouth as Allison got up from her table as someone ran out of the room, sobbing. “I’ll give you the file right now if you just, please, stop yelling and upsetting people.”

Jack pulled his hand away and leaned up close and looked him in the eye. “ _I’m_ upset. Look at my face, do I look like I am at all excited about the places your sperm has been? The bank? The lab? The biology book? The lake? Congressman Faraday’s mouth!’

“ _What?_ ” Nathan asked as he finally had to draw the line on Jack’s rant. “I most certainly _did not_ give him that. He wanted to look in Section 5 _not my pants!_ ”

“Congressman Faraday got blasted in the face with whale bits when he was on the alien autopsy table and Taggart was going to carve him up….” Jack said and the stopped as he realized what had just come out of his mouth. Things you never thought you’d say in a serious argument with your husband. Things that were just….funny? Jack started to laugh. “Does that mean it was a second hand cumshot via whale? Cause he fucking deserved _that.”_

“Jack….”

“I know, that’s so inappropriate and wrong on so many levels. I mean, I’m not into that kinda degrading sex act….but he’s a politician and he most certainly would be offended by that.” Jack started to laugh harder. “Maybe we _should_ get written up so he can come back and threaten to take away your money because your husband can’t appreciate the travesty of whaling.”

Nathan rolled his eyes and dug into the really amazing ice cream cake. Time to change the topic. Especially because that made him smile and it was _really_ inappropriate. God he hoped he had a reason to go back to Washington and could bring Jack with him. The image of them in formal attire at some stupid gala with Jack on his arm, smiling and somehow bringing up whaling and splattered sperm whale while Congressman Faraday’s face drained of color...well that was pretty damned good picture. “So what are we looking for? _For your case_? There are a lot of hungry people here, you’re going to have to help me narrow it down.”

Jack looked around. He pointed to a table of guys wolfing down tray-fulls of food. “Them. That is what we are looking for because everyone else lost their appetite after I yelled about Fudgey.”

Nathan looked where Jack was pointing and saw Milton’s Section Five team eating. That...wasn’t good. Now it was his turn to be pissed. “Jack Carter, _so help me God_ ,if you traumatized an entire cafeteria full of people just to see who kept eating, I will not be having _dinner_ with you because we’re going to end up at Beverly’s for yet another mandatory session. Mandated _by me_!”

“Good.” Jack said. “It will keep her too busy to really look into us too much. Go ahead, schedule it right after dinner so we’ll both be in a good mood because there is no way you’re refusing me today.” 

“Jack, come on, I’m begging you.” Nathan said and Jack stood up, letting his arm just slide right off him.

“Oh, _you will beg_. I promise you that.” Jack grinned and stood up, pulled out Henry’s pen. “But lunch is over and I gotta get back to work.”

“Hey! They’re Section Five and this needs to be handled delicately.” Nathan said through gritted teeth. “You can’t just accuse my people of being on drugs.”

“Why not? Athletes juice for better performance, why not scientists?” Jack asked and walked over to their table and Nathan stalked after him. “Trust me, Nathan!”

“Not when I know how you work!” Nathan said and tried to grab the pen from him as he raised it to use it. 

“Hey guys!” Jack waved at the Section Five dudes with his one hand and put the other hand on Nathan’s chest to push him far enough away to avoid him losing Henry’s magic pen. He stretched out his arm and raised the pen over the table. “Sorry to interrupt your lunch, but I could really use your help with something.”

Nathan tried to grab the pen again and couldn’t reach it as Jack turned it on and a 3D image of the dead guy appeared on the table. _Oh no._

Jack watched them react and cringe and sternly said, “I want to know what drug this guy was on and which one of you killed him.”


	67. Desired Outcome

This chapter's inspirational image: [https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/618575739176009728](https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/618575739176009728)

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 67

**Desired Outcome**

* * *

Nathan shook his head at Jack's 'delicate approach' but watched the guys around the table react to this. It was with disgust, but not at the visuals….at the realization that something went wrong. All of them looked to Milton as if they knew the man did something wrong.  _ Oh shit. _ jack was onto something.

Jack looked over his shoulder at Nathan. “That delicate enough for you?”

“Sheriff.” Nathan had to fall back into formal conversation for the situation and Jack seemed amused by that. 

“ _ Dr. Stark _ .” Jack countered. “I’ll make this easy on you. Have them submit to a drug test.”

“Do you have _evidence_ these men are taking something illegal?” Nathan asked. He knew Jack didn’t otherwise he would have slapped the evidence on his desk earlier instead of his body.

“Well no.” Jack said and turned off his pen. “But that dead guy was pumped with something that could only come from one of your labs and someone is looking at a possible murder charge.”

“Assuming that’s true, even though you don’t have access to the body or the tests that are still being run on it,” Nathan said with a heavy sigh. “How do you know someone else is taking this drug?”

“I have my reasons.” Jack said and Nathan raised his eyebrows calling his bluff.

“I’m listening.” Nathan said and everything went silent around them.

“These guys.” Jack said and held up his chin and tried to look confident instead of looking like a guy who realized how absurd this statement was going to be without Henry there to show his simulation and drug analysis and ADP/ATP cell pokey probe slide. “Are eating  _ way _ too much.”

“Your damning evidence is  _ a healthy appetite _ ?” Nathan asked. 

“Well when you put it that way, it just sounds dumb.” Jack admitted.

“You..can't keep accusing my people of things expecting a confession. Haunting, Invisibiling, wormholing and invading the mind….now eating and?” Nathan asked knowing he wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Roadrunning.” Jack said and said it with confidence and pointed at the guilty people. He nodded as Nathan got that look on his face that said ‘You’re an idiot, but you’re my idiot and I somehow love you for this’. However, Nathan had a job to do, and it was to protect his roadrunners and their roadrunning drugs.

“This isn’t the Acme Factory,  _ it’s Global Dynamics _ .” Nathan said sternly, hoping Jack would stop digging this hole he was determined to dig for himself.

“It’s kinda similar.” Jack said.

“Why? Because this _is a joke_?” Nathan asked seriously. “Jack... _ Sheriff _ . You know you can’t arrest someone without probable cause. _ You know that. _ ”

“Yeah but...there is no probable cause around here other than GD.” Jack turned around and pointed at the guys around the table again. “And they look guilty! Look at ‘em! They know something! Let’s check out that body and more importantly tell me if they are missing a team member.” 

“They’re probably guilty of missing their deadline.” Nathan said and glared at Jack to tell him to just..stop..talking. Allison was back and was about to start yelling at them.

Jack bit his lip. “You’re the one with the Nobel in math, can you tell me how much faster they get to that deadline if they’re running  _ 500 miles per hour _ ?”

“Jack.” Nathan cautioned.

“Carter!” Allison said.

“What happens to that deadline if they send a guy who’s imposing that deadline on them into the ditch, by shoving his car off the road at 500 miles per hour?” Jack asked and Nathan’s eyes flickered with darkness as he considered that coincidence and the possibility that Jack may have lured him to lunch to accuse someone of putting his life in danger. He saw all too clearly now that he was here to flush out his prey, not present evidence and arrest someone.

“Evidence?” Nathan demanded again and hated to be the one who had to defend these guys when they obviously were up to something, but it was his job. Especially when he couldn't have people scared of the Sheriff storming in here accusing people of things without proof. He couldn’t have them thinking he would just hand them over because he was married to said Sheriff.

“I have evidence: your totaled car and some guy’s middle finger is stuck in it.” Jack said and held out the pen again and turned it on. “This dude’s finger.”

“I need something more conclusive than the munchies to take these gentlemen  _ off their project _ .” Nathan countered. “And body parts of someone yet to be identified and a pen projector are not conclusive.”

Jack was hoping one of them would make a run for it but they were all too scared. Then something whizzed past them, like a very brief isolated tornado. Whatever it was blew napkins and food everywhere. Jack closed his eyes as the rush of air hit him and when he opened them he looked at the table and saw none of the guys were missing. Shit! They must have run back to the lab to destroy the evidence! Then Nathan tapped him on the shoulder and he looked at him, soft eyes telling him to follow closely, and Jack looked with him over to where he was pointing. Fargo was standing there,  _ panting _ ?

Then they shut their eyes again as the wind picked up and Fargo disappeared, only to return in a puff of sonic boom an instant later. Nathan raised his eyebrows. Well. There was Jack’s evidence, devouring two hamburgers at once. “So. We might have a drug problem.”

“You shouldn’t have taken his house.” Jack said. He hated that Fargo was always the one in trouble. 

* * *

“I want them quarantined and isolated for investigation.” Jack said as he, Allison and Nathan walked down the hall away from the security office.

“This is still an internal matter, Jack.” Nathan reminded him.

“Not anymore, Nathan. Fargo took this from Milton’s team.” Allison weighed in and held up the eyedropper that Fargo had immediately given up when they questioned him.

“Give it to me, I’ll have it analyzed.” Nathan held out his hand.

“That’s evidence in an ongoing investigation.” Jack said and looked over his shoulder at him. “An investigation into a car accident  _ you were involved in _ .”

“You’re married to me.” Nathan reminded him. “If I can’t be included in the investigation, neither can you.”

“I know. Which is why Jo is taking over the case.” Jack said.

“Jo has never been lead on a case.” Nathan reminded him. “And  _ we _ have experience in this. I was an expert witness in a Federal case. I analyzed a major drug cartel’s work and helped put them away. You worked with me because my life was in danger because of that work.”

“This is not the same thing!” Jack said. “We’re both  _ personally _ involved, we can not have anything to do with this investigation! You know that! You just want to avoid this escalating to D.O.D. levels and making you and GD look bad!”

“He’s right Nathan.” Allison said. “Milton obviously knows more than he’s saying. I’ll turn this over to Jo. We’ll have to bring in someone if you doubt her abilities.”

“No. Jo can handle it.” Jack watched her leave and Nathan immediately came up to him and looked at him, annoyed and disappointed. “Oh come on, you hide things from me all the time! You know I’m right too.”

“I don’t hide things about an accident you were in. Not where you potentially were the one who killed one of your employees.” Nathan said.

“That was a potential but not a probable.” Jack said. “Henry’s simulations pointed to it being the roadrunner hitting you, and you being the coyote. Not the other way around.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell me that?”

“Because even _a doubt_ about who caused that accident, who took that life….it weighs on you. Always. I wasn’t going to give you another ‘what if’ scenario you were going to over analyse without overwhelming proof. That guy would have been in pieces all over the road if you hit him. Henry said so.” Jack said and shook his head. “Henry’s the expert witness in this case and I’m the expert in survivors guilt so just fucking believe me that I had your best interest in mind.”

Nathan digested that and bowed his head. “So this wasn’t about me, it was about you and your accident? When you were a teenager?”

“Yeah.” Jack said. “Because it never goes away. I drove too fast, I wandered over the line, I made a mistake because I had my mind on everything but driving. I killed a girl who it was my responsibility to protect. So, yeah, I don’t wish that on anyone. I couldn’t stand the thought of you feeling like I do.”

“I appreciate it, Jack.”

“But?” 

“But nothing.” Nathan said and bent down to kiss him. He didn’t care if they were at GD, in the hall with people watching, during the workday. “I appreciate you looking out for me.”

“Sorry, I was projecting.”

“You were  _ protecting _ .” Nathan ran his hand over his face, tenderly, before taking his hand back. “Protecting me from myself because I ran through possible scenarios during the Congressman’s hostage situation and you had every reason to believe I would do the same with this.”

“And?”

“And Henry’s right. If I hit him he would have been a lot more parts and a lot less body.”

“OK.”

“You also don’t have to worry about me being targeted for pushing those guys too hard. I didn’t change their deadline until  _ after _ my accident this morning. My meeting with Milton was at 9 a.m. Dr. Hawthorne hit me hours before that.”

“Hawthorne.” Jack said. “You’re sure?”

“He was missing at the meeting and the chip belonged to him.” Nathan said and held up his phone to show Jack the most recent email about the evidence he pulled out of the body. 

“Why were you protecting them?

“I  _ have _ to protect my people, Jack. The same way you protect yours.” Nathan smirked and shook his head. “You can’t keep coming up here and expecting me to hand over people when you don’t have evidence.”

“I got my evidence.”

“Mmm. Eventually.” Nathan leaned next to his ear and said. “Any chance you can get a sample of that eyedropper solution to take home with you, just a sample? I’m an expert witness in chemical compounds.”

“I don’t know. You didn’t give me an autopsy when I gave you a blow job.”

Nathan smiled at a lab tech who walked by as Jack said that way too loud. “I want to know what I’m dealing with. So do you.”

“Henry is going to…”

“Get to it eventually because he has a car to fix and probably wants to spend time with Kim at some point instead of running errands for the Sheriff’s Department.” Nathan whispered. “I, on the other hand, have dinner plans with my husband in my office but a rather open schedule for the rest of the night to do some favors for the Sheriff.”

“I’d rather you do me instead of do science.” Jack sighed. “But I guess it all goes hand in hand.”

“Mmm.” Nathan said.

“OK.” Jack said. “Funny how you get samples from me but I can’t have all your _personal_ samples.”

“This is work related.”

“Whatever. Everyone is working with your sperm, it’s also work related. I worked it at lunch.” Jack said and together they walked to the security office.

“Nobody else considers it lunch.”

“I doubt that. Let’s catch up with Jo and let her know the situation." Jack said. “I’ll interview Milton and friends tomorrow.”

“Why not now?”

“I want to let them stew.” Jack said with a smile and looked up at Nathan. “Any drug that gets people this cranked up has to have a nasty rebound.”

“Alright.” Nathan said. “We’ll put them in the decontamination chamber in Section Four.”

“Great.” Jack said and they stopped at the hallway junction and he could tell Nathan was ready to go back to work. “See? It’s not so bad working together.”

“You keep interrupting my work and throwing accusations at my workers.” Nathan said and shook his head. "And this wasn't working together. This was you using me to get at what you wanted."  


“I’m right.” Jack said. 

“I believe I was too and you owe me an apology for not believing me about the accident.”

“I’ll give it to you at dinner. I’ll see you later.” Jack said with a wink and noticed a stain on Nathan’s tie. Probably ice cream thrown around the cafeteria by the Fargonado. He ran his finger over the tie as a way to run his hand over Nathan's chest and point out the creamy stain. “ _Nice tie_.”

Nathan looked down and saw his damned tie was stained too. The dry cleaning lady had to love them.


	68. Coming Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Another Corona-Wri-Mos Achievement unlocked: Past 150,000 words. So, this is a porn chapter. You should skip this chapter it if you don’t want to read that. :)
> 
> I see A03 email issue is fixed, so if you’ve had a few days without update emails I’d check previous chapters because I have been updating daily. 
> 
> For those of you who have stuck with me for the weekend: this is a whale free chapter. :)

Inspirational Image: <https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/618827903162040320>

_Dissolved_

Chapter 68 

**Coming Together**

* * *

Jack had spent a good three hours with Jo as he caught her up on all the details on the case and handed off the evidence for her to have analysed. She in turn gave him a list of everything Fargo confessed to while in security's office and the poor kid had actually wrapped himself around his leg to beg to be allowed to go back to work so he could finish some project before the deadline. He booked him a room in the infirmary instead and allowed his team to visit him while he went through withdrawal. He kept the eyedropper bottle after transferring the solution to something more secure for travel, just to give Nathan something to ease his curiosity, but handed off the entire case to his Deputy. Jo was so overcome with excitement that she hugged him and squealed like she had just won the lottery or a game show. Job done for the day, it was time for dinner with his husband.

He had called in an order to Cafe Diem and had it delivered to GD since he never got a chance to leave the building. It all worked out because it seemed completely rational for them to still be working since they had discovered a drug problem and not too many people would be suspicious of them spending time in Nathan’s office discussing that problem. Since he had food in his hands he opted to take the elevator up to the office, something he usually didn’t have the patience for since the stairs were right there. 

“Dinner!” Jack announced as the doors on the elevator opened to Nathan’s office. The bell dinged just as he announced it.

Nathan swiveled his chair around as Jack brought dinner over to his desk and covered up his computer screen. He was, thankfully, handling Jack’s dinner arrival better than he did his lunch arrival. “Are you trying to fatten me up?”

“Maybe.” Jack said and gave him a peck on the lips and put his hands on the armrests of his chair and leaned over him. He loved how the glow of the cool computer desk would light up Nathan’s facial features when he worked in here with the lights off. “ _Maybe_ I’m here to help you work up an appetite too?”

Nathan leaned back in his chair, pulling Jack off balance. “Now Jack, that’s not how the game is played. It’s my turn.”

“I figured your turn was when you hinted Henry could get Section 5 clearance so I could be the neutral third party in delivering that offer to him?” Jack said coyly.

“You manipulated me into lunch so you could cause a scene and flood my inbox with HR complaints.” Nathan said as Jack grinned at him and brought his knee up between his legs to push them apart and rest his knee on his chair. “You made quite a few moves at lunch today on your own.”

“OK, so maybe it’s your move.”

Nathan smiled at him. He reached out and started to play with the handcuffs on Jack’s belt which was enough to make Jack forget about his plans with that knee of his, spreading his legs apart for what he assumed was easier access to his zipper. “Nope. _This_ is my move.”

“Seriously?” Jack asked as Nathan rocked forward in the chair, standing up and kissing him as he did. Jack had to wrap his arms around him to avoid getting pushed over since his knee was supporting most of his weight on the chair. Nathan’s kiss was hot and needy, clearly he had been thinking about this all day. Had to. Oh God he loved forceful Nathan! He was surprised their hotel wall in Virginia didn’t have a human size dent in it from as many times as he had been slammed into the wall. He felt Nathan tug on the handcuffs as the kiss got even hotter and he wrapped his arm around his neck to just let Nathan carry him wherever the fuck he wanted. The handcuff thing was a major step for them and he felt them being unclasped from his belt and the familiar click of metal as they were opened...and the cold metal against _his_ wrist?

Nathan clicked one handcuff on Jack’s wrist, spun him around and pushed him backwards into his chair, then clicked the handcuff onto his armrest as he reversed their positions and had Jack seated in his chair.. Jack looked disappointed but hardly upset. Especially when he started to loosen his tie. He actually wiggled into the plush leather seat to get more comfortable. God he loved this man!

“So...not what I was thinking, but, good all the same.”

“Mmm?” Nathan hummed and pulled his tie over his head, slipped it over Jack’s other wrist and tied it to the other armrest. “Going to show me how it’s done are you?”

“I’m game.” Jack said confidently. “ _You’re_ the one with the issues.”

Nathan smiled at him and leaned over to kiss him as he unbuckled and removed Jack’s gunbelt. “Cameras are off, by the way.”

“Good.” Jack said and smiled. “I don't want this to be my next PSA.”

"We'll have to make one eventually. Someone will catch us."

"Probably Allison."

"Probably." Nathan tapped his tablet when he put Jack’s belt on the desk, then returned to undo his normal belt. “Elevator won’t stop on this floor. Downstairs door is locked.”

“That’s _a fire exit_ .” Jack reminded him. “And _really_ illegal to lock. Might have to arrest you...”

“You’re off duty and your handcuffs are not going _on me_.” Nathan said and sank down to his knees and unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. “Windows, tinted. Room, soundproofed.”

“Can’t pull your hair.” Jack pouted.

“Oh...what shame.” Nathan said as he was pretty sure that he too would lose some hair if Jack got his fingers entwined in his curls. "Feel free to yell at me about it."

Jack swallowed hard as Nathan hands pulled his pants and boxers down together and ran his hands down his legs as they went. 

“Damned pants are staying around your ankles so you can’t choke me.” Nathan informed him. “I’ll tie your legs to the chair with your belt if you try it.”

“Ok, then try not to tickle….ahhh.” Jack said as Nathan started kissing his way up his inner leg while bushing the other leg with his beard hair. “ _Me_ . _Me_ an! You’re mean.”

“My move.” Nathan said huskily. “And I like it slow, calculating and symbolic.”

“OK.” Jack said and looked around. “Ah...I’m getting head in _your_ office so….your head of GD? Is that what you want me to see?”

“I want you to see you need to work with me.” Nathan lifted his eyes up as he rested his cheek on Jack’s thigh and didn’t move his head. He ran his hand up the other thigh, hand spread open for the most coverage. Jack watched him.

“You’re doing that thing with your eyes that drives me crazy.”

“What thing?” Nathan asked. “ _Looking at you_?”

“Yes. Where you just lift your eyes instead of moving your head and just...fuck me up with how much you say without moving anything but those eyes of yours.” Jack said as the blue glow from the desk really highlighted Nathan’s face in his lap and his incredible eyes. 

“What are they saying now?” Nathan asked. 

Jack gurgled as Nathan took him in his mouth and his hands ran under him to grab both ass cheeks. Eyes didn’t leave his, he was watching him. Symbolic? Nathan was always watching him? 

Nathan let his finger roll along Jack’s ass cheek, pulling his cheeks apart while he did so. Jack chest was heaving and his face was a delightful array of arousal, anticipation and a little confusion as he tried to figure out the symbolism here. Well that was one way to keep him quiet. He let his tongue roll around Jack's cock while his finger began to probe between his cheeks. Timing the two acts perfectly so they were very very similar. Jack thrashed a little and he was glad for his legs being contained.

Nathan put him on his throne and was sucking his cock and teasing his asshole with his ring finger. Ok? What _did that mean_!? They were doing riddles now? Not a move anyone played against him before and he had no choice but to roll his head back and moan because his husband just added another weird intellectual level to sex and started using his tongue in that way he absolutely loved. 

Nathan pulled back, sucking as he did and let Jack fall from his mouth. He licked his lips. “Make a good opening move. Coordinate your attack. Take your piece.”

Jack wiggled under the attack on his rear, front and Nathan’s fucking deep voice...and deep throating. HOLY SHIT.

Nathan used his hands to pull Jack up into his face as he dove down on his Jack and took him in his entirety. His ring ringer pressed against Jack's puckered hole with enough pressure to be felt but not penetrate. He bobbed a few times and let Jack slip from his mouth. He took away his hands so he could pull out Jack’s wallet and grab the lube card he gave him last week. He dispensed some onto his finger. “Had to tie you down so I didn’t just turn you around and fuck you on my desk for everything you did to me today.” 

“Tell me... _what_ I did?” Jack gasped as Nathan just stopped touching him all at once. “So I can... _do it again_.”

Nathan grinned at him and let his hands return to Jack’s ass, wishing he had time to run home today for toys but he still didn’t have a car. “Played against me. I want you on my team, Jack. I don’t want to play against you, I want to play _with you_.”

“Oohhh shit.” Jack writhed as Nathan’s words coincided with his finger pressing inside him and immediately locating his prostate. Nathan knew his body so well. He moaned, a deep and needy moan.

“So if you want to keep playing against me, we’ll compete.” Nathan said and Jack looked at him as he took him in his mouth again and kept his eyes on him the entire time he worked.

Jack had to fight to watch him because while he was watching him, the way Nathan tilted his head minimized how much beard tickled his thighs. That was intentional. Cause that’s who he married, a genius. A genius sex god. It also was incredibly hot and fucking torture because his body wanted to convulse with all this stimulation.

Nathan withdrew once more from his oral attack and gently blew some warm air over Jack's thigh before placing his head there. He let his finger work by itself for a while. “Will you please stop trying to capture my damned pieces and realize they’re all ours? That you’re by my side though this and that my hands are tied to this damned chair and I can’t make moves you can.”

Jack felt like his heart was going to explode. Or maybe his balls. Wasn’t sure what was going to win out on that one. “It’s not the worst position in the world.”

“Which one?” Nathan asked, his eyes on his and just waiting for Jack to answer. “King tied to his throne or my all powerful, versatile Queen? Which one do you want to be? I play my part well and I can't play yours as well as you do. We can't have both positions, so choose. Be the King of your own territory and battle me, or be by my side and we work this together.”

OK, so the genius brain could think while aroused just not after climaxing. Stupid Sheriff brain could not think while being teased with like this and was really just melting inside his skull into a puddle of desire and whining. Nathan illustrated 'working together’ by returning to fellatio while he fingered his asshole. Raunchy Jack was all that was left, he’d talk chess sex with him later. “Get these off me and take me.” 

“Never one for the long game, Jack. Not for sex.” Nathan said after he pulled back from Jack's cock and took his hand back from his ass. He stood up to kiss him, untying his one wrist as he did so. Jack had his hand in his hair immediately as soon as his hand was free, pulling him into the kiss and clanking the handcuffs against the chair. 

“Just fuck me.” Jack said, his breath rushed and his whole body aching with need. “Any position you want.”

“Any position _you_ want.” Nathan mumbled as he had to hold onto Jack as he fought with his pants and the stupid chair. “You’re the powerful piece, you tell me.”

“Bent over your fucking desk, and you know it.” Jack turned away, hopped a step thanks to his pants keeping his legs together, and got himself in position to lean over the desk where the cuffed wrist could still be locked to the chair without the chair being in the way. Satisfied all furniture was out of the way, he bent over the desk and Nathan was on him in an instant. He moaned as Nathan kissed the back of his neck and his hand wrapped around his cock. He felt him grind against him, thankfully Nathan was getting himself prepped while Jack struggled with the chair, and it wasn’t long before he was pushing inside of him. “ _Oh god Nathan..._ ”

“I love you, Jack.” Nathan said and wrapped his arm around him as he buried himself in him and Jack leaned over the desk moaning. “I told you I was on your side.”

“Now you’re _inside._ ” Jack moaned. “And I really want you to fuck me and stop making this about sides. We talk _after_ sex, my brain doesn’t work during.”

“Not when it will be what puts us in check.” Nathan said and thrusted. “Not when working against each other will be what ends us. You want this so bad and I want you...I want you this close to me all goddamn day.”

“Long live the king.” Jack said and slammed himself back into Nathan, driving him into himself further. He shivered as he buried his gigantic husband into himself. He understood what he was going for, today he kept a lot to himself while he worked the investigation and now Nathan wanted to be more involved. Good. He understood and the memory of this conversation would linger for a while. Even better. Now he wanted his reward. “Point taken, now take me. Shut up and fuck me.”

"As you wish."


	69. Coming Home

_ Dissolved  _

Chapter 69

**Coming Home**

* * *

_ “What do you mean you already had dinner?” _

“S.A.R.A.H.” Jack said and pet the fridge. “I just want a beer not a dispensing of guilt.”

_ “Why didn’t you come home for dinner?” _

“Because we had something to discuss at work.” Nathan chirped and smiled up at the ceiling and waited on her to analyse his voice and mood and everything else she might scan.

“ _ Oh. _ ”

Zoe huffed as she set her homework down on the table. “You guys are going to get fired.”

“What?” Jack asked and she looked at him with the look he  _ never _ wanted to get from his teenage daughter but seemed to get _way too often_ since coming to Eureka. “I’m  _ not glowing! _ ”

“You are.” She said and pointed over at Nathan. “So is he.”

“Well.... we’re not arguing.” Jack said and S.A.R.A.H. gave in and gave him the beer. “And we’re home together.”

“And you picked me up from rehearsal on time, together.” Zoe said. "I'm glad the day ended better than it began."

"I will get the car from the motor pool and we'll start driving lessons this week." Nathan said and lifted his eyes from his tablet to look at Jack who was poised to protest it or invite himself. "Since I was not at fault for the accident and my driving record remains impeccable."

“So what’cha studying.” Jack asked his daughter, not wanting to think about this driving lesson thing at all. He checked the title of the book to make sure it wasn’t marine biology.

“Everything.” She said. “This workload is insane. I mean, who needs that kind of pressure?

“Some people thrive on it.” Jack shrugged and looked over at Nathan tapping away on his tablet. He pointed at Nathan with his beer. “I thought you wanted _his job_.” 

“I, apparently, am destined for a future in robotics, so might as well.”

“Really?” Nathan asked, with a smile as he looked up from his tablet.

“ _ Really _ ?” Jack asked skeptically, surprised that his kid who never touched a robot in her life was going to be the next Nathan.

“ _ Really supportive _ , Dad.” She said and looked over at Nathan who was super excited for her and it was kinda sweet. “Don’t get too excited,  _ Dad _ . It’s just a test.”

“You can use my lab if you want to?” Nathan offered and felt a swell of pride in his chest as she called him ‘Dad’ for the first time. Excited enough to just hand over the keys to the lab where he accidentally created an A.I. son. Jack smiled at him, genuinely happy they were becoming a family.

“Look at you!” Jack said as Nathan got all gushy about his step-kid following in his footsteps and being accepted as #1 Dad. That left him with just ‘Dad’ said in annoyed or chastising tone. “Ready to turn over the robot army already.”

“I’m being supportive.” Nathan said with a smile and went back to work. 

“Yeah, you’re thinking about world domination and I’m thinking we need a bigger house.”

“ _ Working on it _ .” S.A.R.A.H. chimed in.

“Hey, S.A.R.A.H.” Jack said and leaned on the kitchen island as he drank his beer.

_ “Yes, Sheriff?” _

“I heard Nathan took Fargo away, you okay with that?” Jack asked and Nathan did _that thing_ with his eyes again that drove him nuts. Just a 'look' as he glanced up at him from his tablet without moving his head, but there was something about how that look spoke volumes that tingled things every time. 

“Really?” Zoe asked Nathan. “She’s probably his only friend.”

_ “We still have DND night. It’s Ok. I am excited to be in Dr. Stark’s hands.” _

“I bet you are.” Jack said and sipped his beer. Hell, he couldn't blame her, he still was and that office interlude was two hours ago. 

“Speaking of friends.” Zoe said. “I made one!”

“As in I befriended a human or I made a robot friend?” Jack asked and then eyed Nathan. “Or whale?”

Nathan glanced up at him again and got a smile for it. Now Jack was just saying things to make him look at him and he couldn't say he was upset about it. 

“A _human_ friend.” Zoe replied and tapped her pencil on the counter as the two of them started eye-banging each other over nothing. 

“That's great!" Jack said and turned while drinking his beer to concentrate on his daughter. "What’s her name?”

“His name…” Zoe said and watched her Dad react like his beer just went bad. “Is Dylan.”

Jack felt his face contort and tried to stop the obviously bad reaction to the news, but it was too late. Dammit. Why did her first week at school have to include boyfriends? 

“And his last name?” Nathan asked innocently.

“You’re not doing a background check on him.” Zoe said to Nathan who just started tapping his tablet in a more rapid fire movement of fingers, obviously doing more than reading. Then she looked up at her Dad who was reaching for his phone. “ _ Either of you _ .”

“I was just…” Nathan tapped out of his personnel records app and smiled. “Reading HR complaints against your Dad.”

“Right. Look. He’s perfectly normal and smart. He even has a student internship at GD.” Zoe said and the two of them didn't seem impressed.

Nathan glanced over at her as she narrowed her eyes at him. Any typing and she was going to know he was looking him up. “Oh? I haven’t approved any of those since my return. Must have been a Dr. King pick.”

“Oh.” Jack said. “That can't be good.”

“Stop.” Zoe said sternly.

“Since when do you like guys that are normal and smart?” Jack asked.

“Since when do you?” She asked and pointed at Nathan.

“I’m going to tell your Mom you said that.” Jack smiled at her and got a ‘You know that’s not what I was talking about’ look. He considered it and Nathan wasn’t his usual type. He went for hot, certified dumpster fires when he did hook up with men. Oh...shit. His daughter had figured out he had a type  _ from what _ ? He’d figure that out later, right now the danger was some boy she just met. He narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you telling me that you’re bringing home someone’s science fair project that is actually a clone of Nathan because of all the sperm laying around Eureka?”

“No.” She said. "Why would you jump to that conclusion?"

“Because I think Jo might have dated a blond version of him once.” Jack raised his eyebrows at Nathan as he sipped his beer and Nathan definitely knew who he was referring to.

“Speaking of guys you’ve brought to family parties in the last 24 hours.” Nathan held up his tablet to show the Putnam picture from the barbecue to change the topic away from Callister. “Putnam sent me our photo album.”

“Like I said.” Zoe looked up as the doorbell rang. “We are work acquaintances. I am the lead in his play. If we were dating, people would talk and it would undermine our credentials  _ as artists _ .”

_ “There is someone at the door.”  _ S.A.R.A.H. announced.

Jack drank his beer and looked at Nathan and back at her. He put his beer down. “What are you implying, young lady?”

“How many lunches do you get a day,  _ Dad _ ?” Zoe asked and looked over at Nathan. “ _ Dads _ .”

Jack shrugged and Nathan started laughing as she got up to answer the door. “So S.A.R.A.H Lets talk about increasing security.”

_ “Against burglars? _

“Against boys” Jack replied and prepared himself to meet the new boyfriend. He heard the door open with a pneumatic hiss and focused his hearing on the corridor so he didn't miss anything being said. Nathan stopped what he was doing and did the same. 

“Wow you guys live in a hole.” Dylan said as Zoe let him in. “I mean a very nice hole. It’s very postmodern Armageddon.”

Jack and Nathan immediately exchanged glances. Yeah. This one had to go. Nathan slid his tablet aside and took up an intimidating position he normally reserved for sitting at his desk and scaring scientists and politicians. Jack turned and waited for Zoe to bring the boy to the kitchen for introduction with a fake smile on his face. As soon as the boy appeared he said, “Hey, welcome to ‘our hole’. Mine and my husband's hole.”

“ _ Warm and welcoming hole. _ ” S.A.R.A.H. added.

Dylan stopped in his tracks as he saw they were not alone. “Hi.”

“Dad, Nathan,” Zoe glared at them both. “This is Dylan.”

“From the cafe, this morning.” Jack said after recognizing the kid who reacted to Zoe screaming ‘thong’. Yeah. He had to go, and go soon. He offered his hand to shake. 

“Yeah, but I promise my intentions are honorable.” Dylan said.

Nathan smiled and asked, “Why would we assume they weren’t?”

“It’s not your intentions I’m worried about.” Jack said with a fake laugh.

“Dylan’s my chemistry tutor.” Zoe explained.

“I thought  _ I _ was your chemistry tutor?” Nathan said and the boy found something interesting on the wall to look at. Zoe glared at him and he waited for an answer.

“Yeah well, I just want to get a passing grade, I'm not trying to get a doctorate, ” Zoe replied.

“Not with that attitude you aren’t.” Jack said.

“Dad…”

“I’m just helping her catch up with course material.” Dylan said. “It’s not easy at Tesla. You need all the help you can get.”

“Yeah." Zoe backed up him. "Famous parents. Overachievers. We both have some hurdles to overcome.”

“Don't we all.” Jack said and looked over at Nathan. “I mean, I keep having to jump that hurdle over there with his damned PhDs and Nobles and sperm…”

“Don’t you have work to do?” Zoe said. “Don’t you have an accident to investigate?”

“Yeah I heard about that accident.” Dylan said and glanced at Stark who looked like he could see right through him. “Glad you’re OK, Dr. Stark. Did you find out what caused it?”

“Oh, so excessive speed isn’t a  _ real _ reason around here?” Jack asked and looked over at Nathan who rolled his eyes at the double meaning of that now.

“Actually we’re this close.” Nathan held up his fingers to indicate he was mere millimetres away from discovering what it was and made a show of looking at the evidence bag Jack had on the table. “Chemistry class is about to begin if you want to get a head start on extra credit lab work?”

“Okay, well you two should get on that.” Zoe said and mumbled, “Or on each other which is more than likely.”

“All right, I’m going to be in the next room.” Jack said and pointed to the living room. He looked at Dylan. “I have a gun, you know that right?” 

“I have your career.” Nathan chimed in as he picked up his tablet and searched for Dylan in his database. 

“Dad.” Zoe hissed. “Nathan!”

“It’s loaded.” Jack said and patted his gun that was on the kitchen island.

“It’s  _ just _ an internship.” Nathan said dryly and lifted his eyes up from the tablet, slowly. 

“Dads!”

“I’m just saying I’m a pretty good shot.” Jack continued.

“Your  _ only _ shot.” Nathan mumbled and turned the tablet around to show he had Dylan's full records at his fingertips.

“Guys!” Zoe glared at them both. “You’re not funny and a bit cliche and not very progressive with defending your daughter stuff.”

“I’m hilarious.” Jack said and grinned at her. 

“I'm just stating facts.” Nathan said with a smile of his own. 

“Stop.” She said and started to shove Dylan toward the stairs. 

“I guess.” Jack said. “I’ll be right over here, with my really mean husband who just fires people because he woke up too early. We’ll be doing some chemistry homework of our own.”

“Gross. Bye!” Zoe said and ran up the stairs with Dylan in tow.

Jack laughed and tossed the sample bottle of roadrunner juice at Nathan. That was fun and definitely earned him some science for being a good boy. He grabbed his gun belt to take with him. “Are you going to unveil S.A.R.A.H’s My First Chemistry Playset and amaze me with your basement based agriculture and narcotics cooking skills? ”

Nathan looked at the bottle as Jack carried some paperwork with him to the couch. “I think this compound is way more complex than Meth but I’ll do my best to amaze you.”

“I never doubt that.” Jack smiled at him “You are, after all, an expert witness in chemistry. Oh speaking of cooking meth...”

“This is going to be one of those unpredictable turns in conversation…”

“Spencer invited us over for movie night.” Jack said as he put his gun down on the coffee table with the paperwork.

“To cook meth?” 

“No. For movie night in his trailer.” Jack said and grinned at him. “Vincent is doing the cooking and I doubt he’s serving meth.” 

Nathan pulled him over before he could sit down and kissed him. “I think we have our evenings booked.”

“Is that why you’re getting so close to me and putting your hands on my ass?” Jack asked. “Or is that to remind me of my position that I chose earlier?”

“Are you enjoying winning over your people, Sheriff? Are you enjoying trying to make me more approachable and repairing my image which I carefully crafted to help me do my job efficiently?"

“I am. I really am.” Jack said and wrapped his arm around his neck and smiled. “Seems like it’s a pretty good compromise for our work complications and you will never stop scaring people into complicating our work. I’m enjoying the perks of being on your team so far.”

"Good." Nathan kissed him, slow and soft.

"I _am worried_ that you are so adamant about only being able to survive here." Jack said quietly as Nathan pressed his head against his as they held each other in their living room. This...was home. This was more of a home than he had ever had.

"When did I say that?" Nathan asked. "Not today."

"Kinda. The King is captured and the game is over. Symbolically that’s your throne. Your job. You’re afraid if you're no longer director things will change here? Is that why you're so scared to lose the game?"

"I'm scared to lose you." Nathan said. "I love the version of us that can only exist here but I won't lose you even if I lose the job. I would like to fight to keep things how they are. Highest probability for a win as I see it. I love my job, but I love you more."

"Yeah, I'm really loving this too." Jack said. "I really love you when you're like  _ that. _ "

"Yeah well, had to stop you from outmaneuvering me somehow.". Nathan grinned. "At least long enough to make it clear I wasn't against you."

"Oh so lunch was..."

"Incredible.". Nathan kissed him. "But I wasn't trying to fight you."

"I see that now. We still have some things to figure out.". Jack admitted and upon reflection could see Nathan wasn’t at the crime scene to argue, he was just doing what he had to. "I'd love it if you would just say what you mean instead of playing games but I guess I...kinda like when you don't. Still, you could have handled the crime scene better."

“It was better than how you handled outing Milton’s team.” Nathan remind him.

“Yeah.” Jack held onto him, arms wrapped around his neck and had another moment of just wanting to pinch himself to see if this was all real. This was his husband, this incredible man who he just begged to fuck him an hour ago, was standing in their living room just begging to be included in how he worked. Just so they could stay together and keep this dream going. God, help him, this was better than a dream. “I want to be on your team. I think we can work on that compromise and work together...more closely.”

“Good. Let's talk about baseball?”

“Wow, you’re really trying to set a record for orgasms today.” Jack said and narrowed his eyes as he saw that smirk that said he was up for the challenge but that was not what he was going for. Loved. This. Man.. “Or are you trying to steal Team Captain away from me, Ahab?”

Nathan smiled at him. God they were developing their own inside jokes at this point. They were  _ so far  _ away from where they were last Monday he felt like he had to check with the Time Maintenance Lab to make sure something wasn’t causing time to be more concentrated than normal. Just a week and things were falling into place as they feel more deeply in love. “I am trying to schedule you for a tailor’s appointment for a uniform if you want to start up a league?”

“Custom uniforms?” Jack asked. “League!”

“And a custom suit because you need one.” Nathan said and Jack frowned. “Two for one deal, you only get me to sign off on the uniforms if you get measured for a suit while you’re there.”

“You’re getting our uniforms...tailored?” Jack asked. It wasn't a surprise, it was Nathan, but still....

“Yes.” He said. “I am not wearing polyester.”

“Are we going old school and wearing wool?”. Jack asked. "Are we playing 'rounders' like they did back in the Civil War?"

“We’re going with a material made by Global. You’ll like it. Doesn’t stain.”

“Right.” Jack said. “OK, I don’t even care. If you want special uniforms, you can have it.”

“Good, because they’re all ordered and in production already and you just need to have yours fitted.”

“This is how our wedding is going to go, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Jack said as their lips met and Nathan lifted him up and into his chest, causing Jack to roll onto the balls of his feet. Then there was a whoosh of something that whipped around them, something just like the Fargonado in the cafeteria earlier. In one swift move he was spun around, reaching for his gun, drawing it, clicking off the safety, and back with his gun drawn and his back pressed up against Nathan to shield him with his body. “What the fuck was  _ that _ ?”


	70. Home Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It bothered me that they didn’t explain how someone broke into the bunker and stole the evidence bag when S.A.R.A.H. was the ultimate SmartHouse and knew everything from particles in her carpet to air quality. Being that this episode was probably supposed to air earlier and it was season 1, I think that’s enough explanation, but this is my version now. :) S.A.R.A.H. should have had the capability to play back the security footage…’the guy was moving too fast’ doesn’t cut it for me. Jack should have been asking her about it instead he just rolled into GD the next day like “Well, somebody broke into my house last night. They were fast and it had to be one of them or a friend of theirs.”
> 
> I’m also not sure how I can explain how Jack can throw a baseball at a kid running 500 mph at him ‘rushing the mound’ and not kill the kid. (But I'll figure out my whale problems somehow...) So we’re diverting from canon a little.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 70

**Home Invasion**

* * *

Nathan didn’t move as Jack scanned the room with his gun drawn. He knew the drill, he knew not to interfere when Jack was working like this. He, however, needed to give him the details of what he knew and his hand was now empty. “Evidence bag is gone.”

“Dad!” Zoe came running down the stairs with Dylan and saw her Dad with his gun protecting Nathan and searching the room. “ _What was that_?”

Jack held up his hand to tell her not to move then he saw the literal writing on the wall. The words ‘Back Off’ were hand painted on the wall. The evidence bag was gone. The answer was clear: they didn’t have all the guys in this drug ring. He put his gun down and said, “I guess we’re staying at the director’s house tonight.”

Nathan knew he could say something now and bent close to Jack’s ear. “I’ll check S.A.R.A.H.’s surveillance if you want to check the house.”

“Give me a sec.” Jack nodded and turned to him, grabbing his forearm and squeezing because he was happy they could work together like this. “Keep the kids with you.”

“Zoe, Dylan.” Nathan waved them down the stairs as Jack walked through the house checking for an intruder. “Hang out with me for a bit.”

Jack walked up to the wall and sniffed the words. It smelled like….“It’s ketchup?”

Nathan watched him walk quickly across the room to the kitchen as the kids came down to join him. There was a towel thrown on the ground and he picked it up, felt it, and Nathan could tell from his reaction it was wet. The ketchup bottle was on the kitchen island, laying on it's side and probably empty. He realized Zoe was familiar with how Jack cleared a room when he didn’t have to instruct them to do much as she told Dylan where to sit and wait. While he stood in the living room he looked around and searched for anything out of place, resisting the urge to go to the kitchen island and start looking at S.A.R.A.H.’s cameras and reports. He looked up at the ceiling. S.A.R.A.H. hadn’t said anything. Was she offline or simply unaware? 

“All clear.” Jack said after swiftly moving through the bunker and finding absolutely nothing out of place other than papers and anything that could be tossed by a whirlwind. He came back to the living room to holster his gun and Nathan was standing there like a sentinel over the kids but, his eyes told him he thought of something and wanted to get to work on this.

“Dylan, I think it’s time you went home.” Nathan said and gave him a reassuring smile and the boy was off the couch in an instant. Jack came over to check on Zoe as he walked the kid to the door, the boy looked rattled enough to not protest.

“Yeah, I..” Dylan shook a little from the adrenaline rush of running through the house and he was glad that Dr. Stark only thought he was scared. It gave him an easy out before his nerves got the best of him. He wouldn't hold up to questioning, the MPH had him on edge already. “I think it is.”

Zoe ran over to her Dad and he put his arm around her. “What happened?”

“That’s a better question for S.A.R.A.H., so why don’t we get an overnight bag packed while she runs through her camera footage and tells us who was just here and how they got in.” Jack replied as he heard the front door hiss closed. Nathan didn’t demand a report yet, which was odd. He would have used S.A.R.A.H. as backup for him as he went through the house, but refrained from doing so...why?

“ _ I feel so violated, Sheriff. _ ” S.A.R.A.H. said. “ _ I can feel the disturbance but I can’t see it. _ ”

“Are your cameras compromised?” Nathan asked as he pulled up her command center on the kitchen island. 

“ _ Dr. Stark, I turned off the cameras so you and the Sheriff could have privacy in the living room.” _

Jack walked Zoe over to the kitchen as Nathan pulled up a computer system in their counter top. “Uh, thanks?”

“Where was the security breach?” Nathan asked and she dimmed her lights in embarrassment. “How did an intruder get in here?”

“ _ I recorded none _ .”

“So the doors were never opened after Dylan arrived?” Nathan asked. 

_ “That is correct. Dylan arrived alone. Nobody else has been let in the bunker today, either.” _

“How?” Jack asked. 

“Was it because your servers were occupied with a background search?” Nathan asked, wondering if she was so consumed with finding Callister she bogged herself down..

“Was it a ghost?” Jack asked. “Like Walter?”

“ _ No, Dr. Stark, I am more than capable of handling that workload. _ ” S.A.R.A.H. replied, offended. “ _ And I did not have an electrical interference like I did when Dr. Perkins visited _ . _I would like to discuss my surveillance footage with you Dr. Stark as I feel it impedes my ability to protect you if I can not see everything._ ”

“No ghosts, Jack.” Nathan shook his head and opened up the permissions on the camera manually. He had turned them off after Jack hinted he was uncomfortable with S.A.R.A.H. watching them. “It’s never ghosts.”

“Then how do you explain the roadrunner getting in here to steal the evidence bag?” Jack asked and hugged Zoe. “They can’t walk through walls if they can punch your car and break their arm. If our dead guy could blink in and out of physical form, he wouldn’t have pinballed through the woods and died...he could have just passed through the trees.”

“What?” Nathan asked and realized he ever got the complete report on Dr. Hawkthorne’s demise.

“ _ What? _ ” Zoe asked, her Dad was being more ridiculous than normal as he babbled looking for an explanation.

“How...” Jack said as he decided to open with a better slew of questions that didn’t assume a suspect. “How did someone get in here? How did they finger paint the walls if they were able to _ pass through _ the bunker walls to get in here? They had to be corporeal. How many more people are part of this drug problem if they  _ had  _ to take the evidence? How much more can that drug do? How...did they know I had it….”

Nathan watched Jack reach for his phone and keys. He would compliment him on his use of 'corporeal',and expansion of his vocabulary, later.

“Jo. Jo has the majority of the sample, I have to see if they got her too! I gotta bring her in for this B&E anyway.” Jack said as he opened his phone.

_ “I’m sorry Sheriff, I have nothing on my security feed for you. Other than air disturbance. I have failed you all. You should move. You should go to that other house. I am a bad house.” _

“Easy girl.” Jack said and dialed Jo as he pet the kitchen island. “This isn’t your fault.”

“Bring up the air disturbance records.” Nathan said. “We’re not going anywhere, S.A.R.A.H. This is the safest place in the world.”

“Yeah, and we’re not leaving you alone either.” Zoe added. 

" _So you will still stay with me tonight?_ " S.A.R.A.H. asked. " _Despite my inability to keep vandals and drugs out of the house?"_

"We're staying." Nathan said definitively. 

"You are our house." Zoe said, backing him up and the lights brightened a little. "Are you OK, S.A.R.A.H.?"

_"I am upset I failed you, but I am comfortable in my abilities to protect myself if someone tries to enter me without permission again."_

"That's a girl!" Zoe said. "You should defend yourself!"  


"Don't encourage her." Nathan said through gritted teeth with a warning smile. "This is a battle station and that will get ugly, fast."

"Good." Zoe said and pet the countertop to show she had S.A.R.A.H.'s back if someone tried shit with her. "They messed with the wrong woman."

Nathan went back to pulling up reports, realizing that Zoe was already halfway to robotics engineer already with her humanizing of the machine. 

Jack walked circles as he waited on Jo to pick up her phone. He hoped she was just celebrating her first big case with Taggart and not tapping into her own Wonder Woman strength and already halfway across the continental US already sprinting after the roadrunner to get her evidence back. He doubted cell signals could ping something going that fast and he didn't doubt Jo had the ability.

“ _ Lupo _ .”

“Jo! You OK?” Jack asked. She was out of breath. 

“ _ I am? _ ” 

That was the sound of someone trying to hide some shortness of breath from adult activity and not tackling the Flash. Good! “Hey, someone just broke into my house and stole my evidence sample. Kinda trashed the place by zipping around at the speed of light and going all Shining by writing on my wall with ketchup. You OK? Still have your evidence?”

_ “Yes and yes. Do you need backup? Taggart and I can be there in ten minutes.” _

Fully armed, no doubt. Which meant they were somewhere together and had guns with them. Good for her. “We’re OK. I just needed to let you know they might have come for your evidence too”

“ _They're welcome to try. However,_ _ it’s in my possession and locked in the gun safe in my cruiser. Just checked. _ ”

They were in  _ her _ car? So she took him out for a date? No...hey were in the back seat where her gun safe was if she checked that fast. She fit Taggart...in the back seat of her car? Go Jo. “Great. Just keep an eye out, we’ll do our own in-house investigation for now.”

“ _ Are you sure? _ ”

“I am. We’ll interrogate those guys at GD first thing in the morning.” Jack said and tapped his fingers on the counter as Nathan compiled data from S.A.R.A.H. “See you then.”

_ “OK. I’ll drop the evidence off at Henry’s before I come in.” _

“Good. Thanks, Jo. Have a good night.”  Jack hung up and Nathan looked up at him, knowing what he was going to say. “Just us. They only think we have one sample.”

Nathan leaned on the counter and moved things around on his screen. “The air disturbance pattern indicates the intruder was contained in the bunker. He traveled from the bedrooms, down the stairs and through the kitchen and living room.”

“He?” Zoe asked and both of them gave her the ‘look’ that said she really know how to pick'em. “You mean _Dylan_.”

“Evidence points to the origin of the air disturbance being your room.” Nathan said and sent the map of airflow screen across the counter to her. He pulled up the heat map, which also showed a similar conclusion. “Unless you want to confess to using drugs?”

She gave him a look that said “thanks a lot’ as her Dad actually whined when he said that. “No Dad, I’m not using drugs to run around our house and RedRum the walls.”

“Thank god.” Jack said and breathes a sigh of relief. 

“So are you going to arrest Dylan?” She asked.

“Not without evidence.” Jack said.

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Which won't stop you from questioning him.”

“No it won't.” Jack said and shook his head. “Not tonight though. He’s not a career criminal, his paranoia about being caught is going to start wearing him around the edges. Zoe, I…”

“We’re broken up. Consider it done.” She said. “I'll tell him as soon as I see him in homeroom.”

“Alright.” Jack said. “So, do you still need help with chemistry homework?”

“No Dad, you can have the in-house chemistry expert to yourself.” She said and went to the fridge for some juice before heading back upstairs to start picking up all the papers in her room. "I'm going to finish up my homework on my own."

Jack raised his eyebrows at Nathan who was still double checking data. “So, uh, nice quiet night, huh?”

“Not over yet.” Nathan said and closed out of the programs. “Why don’t you come sit with me on the couch while I look up my student intern’s files? Finish up my own homework because getting up early didn't work out too well for me today.”

“That sounds amazing.”

Nathan took his tablet and walked to the living room and sat down. He ignored the ketchup on the wall because he was not cleaning the damned house this late. Jack came over, kicked his shoes and socks off and laid down, resting his head in his lap. He put the tablet aside to focus on his husband for a little while. 

Jack laid on his back and stretched out, closing his eyes almost immediately upon his head hitting Nathan’s thigh. Then he smiled as fingers began to run through his hair that was really too short to run fingers through. Nathan made it work. He made things work. It felt amazing and he smiled as he ran through his plan of attack for tomorrow and made sure there was nothing more he could do to ensure his family stayed safe tonight from ghosts and speeding teenagers.

Nathan watched him fall asleep within a few minutes. Jack had the ability to sleep anywhere and fall asleep instantly, and wake up and be ready for anything. It was the nature of his work, learning to nap when he could and always being on alert and ready to go, but it amazed Nathan none-the-less. Jack’s gun was laying on the coffee table, the only indicator that he was still uneasy about intruder’s tonight. Otherwise he’d had locked it away before coming to lay with him here. 

He envied him, over something so simple as sleep. It took forever for him to wind down and stop his mind from churning and he certainly was not pleasant to be around if woken up. He has simply learned over the years that it could be more time to work, instead of lay in bed and getting frustrated. Eventually, it just turned into working through the night and putting off sleep until his body could no longer function without it. It was like a war of attrition with himself, but he had stopped seeing it as anything but normal years ago.

Until Jack. 

He smiled and ran his hand through Jack’s hair once more, then down the side of his face and brushed his thumb over his cheek. Jack’s lip twitched, the edge of his mouth up turning into a smile as he reacted to the touch despite being asleep. What an amazing, beautiful, man he married. It was hard to believe, still. It was even harder to believe that a mere week ago he almost lost him, that Jack had no intentions of staying here or with him just _seven days ago_. 

Now they’d fight harder to stay together, that he didn’t doubt. He could help by giving Jack the information he needed to solve this case and let him have the victory of sweeping the opponent off the board. First stop, the personal records of one Dylan Hartwell and every person and project he had even looked at in GD.


	71. Captive Audience

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 71

**Captive Audience**

* * *

“What do you mean we have to go to therapy?” Jack asked as he met Nathan in Cafe Diem after a quick run to his office. The plan was to drive into GD together, but he had to run to his office to put up a sign to let people know he was out of the office for a bit.. Nathan was alone, getting coffee, for _three whole minutes_ and managed to get them into trouble. He should have just kept driving and got coffee at GD.

Nathan put a Vinspresso in Jack’s hand, then used his now free hand to point at Beverly having breakfast at a booth in the corner. 

“Now!?” Jack yelled at her as she waved. “I'm in the middle of a drug bust! Not to mention, it’s 7 o'clock in the morning!”

“You’re both together.” Beverly said and patted her lips with her napkin to show she was finished with breakfast. “And I would like to address the many, _many_ complaints I have received about you because of your outburst yesterday at Fudgey’s celebration of life.”

“At 7 am?” Jack asked and looked at Nathan who sipped his coffee and shrugged. “We have work to do!”

“Yes.” Beverly said as she stood up and walked over to them. “And now _I_ have way more work because of how insensitive you handled _your work_. So, your scheduled session is now taken by someone who needs counseling and therapy more than you and you can take this time slot which is usually reserved for my breakfast.”

“I’m sorry Beverly, but official police business…”

“Should have been handled more tactfully by a career law enforcement officer.” She said and leaned between them and added quietly so VIncent wouldn't overhear., “And I can’t help but wonder if your relationship with the Director of Global Dynamics made you forget protocol, your training, and basic human decency during the course of this investigation. So, are you going to follow me to my office or are we going to do this in yours?”

Jack took a deep breath as Nathan’s raised eyebrows reinforced his knee jerk reaction of ‘She knows! She knows we fucked in the office!’. “Mine. Mine works.”

“Good.” She said, smiled and left to go across the street.

Jack put his hand on his hip and collected his thoughts as Nathan sipped his coffee, loudly. “Well, I see Tuesday is going to start off _just great_.”

Nathan shrugged. “I tried to tell you…”

“Yeah, I could have handled things better yesterday.” Jack said as he walked to the door with him and watched Beverly just waltz into his office. Quietly he added, “She’s doing a great job of using the situation to handle us.”

“Mmmmm hmmmm.” Nathan hummed as he held the door for Jack. “Noticed that power play too, huh?”

“Yeah.” Jack walked out the door and focused on the doors to his office closing as they paused on the sidewalk. He sipped his Vinspresso. “She likes us to forget we’re playing against her and makes moves when we’re not looking.”

“Good luck keeping her distracted with sperm this time.” Nathan said and smiled and drank his Vinspresso.

Jack grinned at him and saw amusement in his eyes. “Just watch me.”

“I always do.” Nathan replied as Jack strode off the sidewalk and across the street and he enjoyed the view: Beautiful ass that apparently was not sore after what they did yesterday, and a neck that wasn’t stiff from sleeping on his leg all night. Unlike him, who wasn’t sure if his neck was still sore from Taggart’s tranquilizer dart or his car accident, but was eager to help himself to some drugs to relieve the pain once he was able to get to GD. 

Jack walked into his office and appreciated the bold move on Beverly’s part to do this on his turf. There was a message in this, that his territory would always be available to her if she said so. Beverly had D.O.D. approval to go anywhere and question anyone she wanted, whereas his own power was limited to Eureka and what Nathan allowed him to see at GD. She was clever and knew how to work the subliminal messages. “OK, do you want to use my desk?”

“Let’s use the jail cell.” She said and picked up Jo’s chair and carried it to the cell. “You and Nathan can sit on the bed.”

Jack sipped his coffee as Nathan came into the building and his husband the balls to laugh at her.

“ _Really?_ Truly _captive_ audience, huh?” Nathan said and didn’t hesitate to walk into the cell and sit down. “Trying to keep us from feeling like we’re in an office setting and comfortable in our environment by placing us at your mercy in a jail cell. You, alone, capable of locking us in or out of our life here.”

Jack smiled a little too much at that. He loved Nathan’s booming, ‘gotcha bitch’ voice. “Well, we do some of our best work on the bed so…”

“Great, now that we’re past the demonstration of your genius.” Beverly said and sat the chair down where she wanted it and looked up as Jack entered the cell with them. “And your immaturity, let’s begin our session.”

Jack sat down beside Nathan and looked around the cell as he enjoyed his coffee. It made him think about the premise of subliminal perception and how visuals we were not consciously aware of set the mood. He got Beverly, he understood what she was going for here. They were bad, naughty patients who avoided her and caused problems. They were waiting on judgement for their situation and would be either free to live life or be removed from this perfect society to be reformed. What she didn’t know was this made him think about his case, and how someone was moving so fast that nobody could see him but messages were left in his wake. It was like those rapid fire pictures they’d show you in a research panel and you wouldn't realize your brain actually saw something, but your subconscious did pick up on more than you knew . Hmm. He needed to slow the roadrunner down somehow in order to catch him. Well therapy was good for something.

“So, you’ve both had a very busy and successful week.” Beverly said and smiled at them as she got comfortable. “Want to tell me about it?”

“Just highlights or details?” Jack asked.

“I’d really like to know what changed. You’ve had your very public fights and very public intimate moments. I would like to know how _you_ have changed in the last week. Perhaps you fell back on what made you two fall in love to begin with? You never did tell me how you met. ”

Jack was quick to respond. “And we won’t. That’s our story and I honestly don’t want it used against us in therapy, so pick another angle.”

“Why?” She asked. “Why can’t I ask how two alpha males managed to fall in love during a very tense, high profile, stressful situation?”

“You’re going to imply it was the dangers of the trial that brought us together?” Nathan snorted and shook his head. “That’s elementary stuff, Beverly. Try again.”

“Love is security, and in times of crisis there is a heightened need for security.” She responded. ”In times of crisis the threats to your life are very much at the forefront of your mind and you take more risks than normal because of it. Live life while you can. Are you going to tell me that you were so comfortable with your sexuality there was no risk in indulging in an affair with a man while you were working a national level case?”

“I’ve been comfortably bisexual and open about it for years.” Nathan replied. “Eureka or otherwise.”

“What about you, Jack? Certainly it’s not as easy for a man in law enforcement as it is for a man of science.”

“I’ve actually fucked a lot of law enforcement guys.” Jack shrugged. “Marshals, we’re all kinda high strung disasters who need an outlet. Pretty good at keeping secrets. Loner types, with anger and control issues, hyper-fixations and a government stipend for hotel rooms. ”

“Pretty good at sleeping with someone you were supposed to be protecting?” Beverly asked and it was Nathan who reacted first.

“Don’t go there, Beverly.” Nathan said, his voice sharp and eyes cold. 

“Why? Because it opens your relationship up to question because of your mental state or because you are offended I am insulting your husband?”

“You’re insulting my husband.” Nathan made it very clear. “That ends now.”

“Fine.” Jack said and leaned forward. “I’ll admit it was a lot of lust in the beginning but we had already established a rapport that made it more than just a casual fuck. I went into it accepting that there was going to be no ‘after’, that all we were doing was enjoying the isolation and one situation where I could ever have a shot at a guy like him. Yeah, I might have not been doing my job protecting my witness when we were screwing, but I had _a sniper_ who was watching our position. Like I said, we Marshals know how to work together.”

“Do you feel like your desires might have been awakened by being protected like that, Nathan?” Beverly asked. “Marshall Carter sounds like a hero out of a movie, shielding you from threats so you could produce scientific results?”

“Oh look, there it is.” Nathan said dryly. “You are attempting to equate our situation in Eureka with the situation in Virginia where we fell in love. That I need to be protected at GD from outside threats."

Jack looked over at him as Nathan made an exaggerated show of looking around the cell.

“Exemplifying our isolation from the outside world with your session in a jail cell.” Nathan glared at her. “Using my own words against me, because I freely admit that Eureka is the only place in this world that I can salvage my marriage. Well, it is. We’re flourishing here because Eureka is accepting and challenging and very very much where I want to stay with my husband. Happy? I am. I’m very happy right now and I am very much in love and you’re going to piss me off by telling me that the honeymoon eventually ends.”

Jack watched his face flush with anger. “It won’t.”

“Jack, the inevitable euphoria of each other’s presence wears off and your issues will be more visible than ever.” Beverly said and that managed to anger him. Interesting.

“Beverly, I’ve been married. Have you?” Jack asked.

“No, however…. “

“The honeymoon might end but we’re going to have a wedding in six months and then it all starts over again.” Jack said and felt Nathan relax beside him. Their goal was six months and then a decision would be made. Well, he was making that decision right now. “'Cause we’re getting married again in Eureka so Nathan can have his fancy wedding and we can renew our vows in the place we call home. So save the date.”

She saw Nathan smile at him and asked, “So, Nathan, I'll ask you what I asked last week. Do you want Eureka to see how happy you are? Flaunt it in their face that you won this time?”

“Yes.” Nathan said. “Absolutely. I won't be cruel about it and ask Ally to walk me down the aisle and ‘give me away’ but I want a wedding. An extravagant wedding.”

“Ice cream cake?” Jack asked.

“I’ll give you plenty of sperm.” Nathan said. “And you’ll take my insurance.”

“And how do you feel about this, Jack?” Beverly asked. “Do you feel your vows the first time were not spoken with sincerity? You strike me as a man who takes oaths very seriously, someone who doesn’t feel they need to be renewed because you meant what you said the first time.”

“We got married in front of a judge.” Jack said. “I take what I said in front of a Judge very seriously. More serious than in front of a preacher in a church that doesn’t hold the same meaning for me as a courthouse. I swear to God in that courtroom to tell the truth, and I do. That building is sacred to me and the guiding principles of my life, and my job, come from those halls. It sounds horrible, but those are the stairs I walk up and see as walking up the stairs to truth. Those seats in a courtroom hold all the testimony and examples of good and bad that I care about. My vows, said in that building, mean more than you can comprehend.”

“But they weren’t good enough for you, Nathan?” Beverly asked. “Because you and Allison chose to marry in a courthouse? So perhaps you want to bring them before God and the town to make them more definitive? Longer lasting?”

"I may have been a shitty husband to Ally but it only made my vows to Jack stronger. We are married, and intend to stay that way, now matter who hears us. Now, I want a wedding.” Nathan replied honestly. “I want him in a tux. I want to write my vows. I want to cringe as I realize he was supposed to write vows but chose to ‘wing it’. I want to listen to the man I absolutely adore babble about weddings, sperm and insurance and the rest of our lives together.” 

“I’m not missing him in a tux, on the happiest day of his life, or dancing with him. Or singing to me.” Jack admitted. “Plus he wants this wedding and I want him to have that? Why look into it? It’s a ceremony to celebrate us, the vows have already been spoken. We’re married, this is just a wedding.”

“Which brings us back to my original question: how did you get from divorce to planning a wedding in a week?”

Jack shook his head. Hell, he was there and he still didn’t know. Time to play his signature move or this would take all morning. “I came to realize that I’m a little...entitled.”

“Wow. That’s a huge breakthrough.” Beverly said, surprised.

“Entitled...to his sperm.” Jack said and slapped Nathan on the leg. “Did you know that Fudgey was Nathan's son?”

“You’re simplifying this down to a _very_ disturbing image.” Nathan said.

“No. Your sperm being set free to swim in Taggart's enhanced semen extender so it could develop a solid tail and grow to the size of a fucking whale, is a disturbing image. It will be worse delivered thru PowerPoint presentations by an excited Australian vet while your centerfold spread will be on the wall next to the projector screen and barrels of your sperm whale will be beside my chair.”

“Jack, Fudgey was an amazing breakthrough.” Beverly said and Jack crossed his arms and glared at her. "Were you disruptive at his celebration of life lunch because you felt possessive of Nathan's sperm?"

“I'm not jealous of a dead whale who broke the definition of 'sperm whale' and broke himself when he got splattered all over Eureka by drinking coffee? I'm tired of Fudgey being the reason I'm the bad guy here! I didn't make him, I didn't kill him. Hell I don't understand how he's even possible!” Jack asked and lifted up his coffee. “I am a little worried that Nathan thinks I’m hyper because I get extra caffeine from his semen when I give him blow job!”

"Fudgey….didn't grow from sperm to whale, he was genetically modified in a lab. There is way more involved than just adding semen extender to make him grow. There is also more involved in his death than just drinking coffee. Jack, can you please investigate this before spouting off nonsense?". Nathan asked. "I know you're pissed but it's no excuse for not reading the report and it is a very valid concern I have for your health in regards to your caffeine consumption. Why wouldn't I access the research that has already been done?""

Beverly cocked her head as Jack set his coffee down, jumped up from his seat and his arms started flailing around like he was swatting flies or possessed by someone’s Italian grandma. 

"Why does this always come back to a ‘me’ problem? It's your caffeinated super sperm that I want, not a story about a dead whale! I don't plan to drink your sperm in a smoothie or milkshake for breakfast, I just don't want it given to Taggart by the barrel-full so he can make a new Sea World in Lake Archimedes!"

“Its still a concern.” Nathan said, slid Jack's coffee away from him, and smiled at Beverly who apparently was not as prepared as she thought for Jack’s tangent. “If you really want to know about the whale you should ask Taggart since we seem incapable of discussing this professionally.”

“I will. While I'm at it, I will ask him to hand over any more samples he has while he cries over the inability to make a new pet out of your sizable donations. No! Even better! I’m going to give Taggart  _ my sperm _ so he can make some sharks or something. See how _you_ like that!”

"Sharks...are fish." Nathan said. "Fish are not mammals."

"How is that a counterargument? Whales aren't sperm either!" Jack fired back. 

Beverly recovered enough to ask. “Nathan? Is that all you have to say to Jack’s concerns?”

Jack put his hands on his hips and waited for an apology. Nathan grinned at him and he knew he was about to start laughing. Goddammit. Why did he marry a scientist?

Nathan answered with a laugh, a deep rumbling laugh that got him slapped across the chest by said husband several times. "Yes, if he thinks we can make sperm into giant _fish_!"

"Don't make this about marine biology!" Jack yelled. "Fine! If it has to be a mammal, I'll ask for dolphins!"

“You're horny enough and you do love salty snacks….” Nathan said and made a dolphin squeak noise before erupting in laughter again. 

“Fuck you.” Jack said and tried to shove him off the bed as he laughed. "Stop making me smile when I am trying to be mad at you!"

“Gentleman!” Beverly said and it was too late because Jack was now kneeling on the mattress and pinning Nathan against the bars of the cell. Nathan kept laughing.

“I want experiments with your sperm limited to our bedroom!”

“Just our bedroom?” Nathan countered with a barely contained laugh. “I mean, while we’re in your office I might as well apologize…”

Jack quickly added, “And your office and my office and car and houses….shut up! Stop laughing!”

“I can’t.” Nathan laughed harder. "You really need to read that file before you ask Taggart to make you a Fiji Mermaid sidekick. That's the only way _a fish_ could...." 

“Nathan, please take this seriously.” Beverly said as Jack took the pillow off the bed and started smacking Nathan with it. They were laughing and devolving into a pillow fight in a jail cell during a couples therapy session. Congressman Faraday was right, she underestimated Jack Carter. "This is couples therapy and I need you to address your issues."

“I am.” Nathan said and grabbed the pillow and looked to Jack with a sincere expression on his face. “I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened of this man that I’ve become.”

“Is that line from…. _Africa by Toto_?.” Beverly asked as Jack slapped him in the face with a pillow and Nathan only laughed harder.

“You’re hopeless. An absolute lost cause.” Jack said and threw the pillow against the wall and sat down on the bed beside him. Nathan laughed harder and put his head on his shoulder and cried into it. “Fucking balloon animals will be made out of your sperm and you’re making light of it. I’m going to see it floating through New York City one day in in the thanksgiving day parade.”

“Nathan, I think you should listen to him.” Beverly wasn't sure who this man was, but this was not the Nathan Stark she had known.

“ _ Every sperm is sacred _ …” Nathan softly sang. 

“Are you singing Monty Python?” Jack asked. “Are you seriously mocking me right now?”

“ _ Every sperm is good… _ ”

“Oh for fucks sake.” Jack shoved him off his shoulder. “No more sperm needed in the neighborhood, donate it all if you think I’m going to go down on you again. _Ever._ This neighborhood needs to be more like Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood anyhow.”

“What? Open the closet door and out we come?”

“Shut up. Stop ruining innocent things, like ice cream, whales, and children's television.”

Beverly wasn’t sure how she was going to break these two apart. They were genuinely, truly in love and working together as a team now. Something she never thought Nathan Stark was capable of.

"Where did you put my coffee?" Jack asked as he searched the floor for it.

“Are we done here? Clearly someone is hinting he needs some cream with his coffee?” Nathan asked.

“Are you on drugs?” Jack asked and got a grin in reply. “Because if you think making sperm jokes right now is anywhere near appropriate you should stay and get some sensitivity counseling.”

“I should tap into your libido and market it as a drug.” Nathan said. “I’ll never have to worry about the budget again.”

“I hear there is a drug problem at GD.” Beverly chimed in.

“It’s America. Drugs are a problem everywhere." Jack said as he found and drank the remainder of his coffee. "Just be glad it’s not heroin like most small towns.”

“Since you seem to be working out your issues working together….” Beverly said and Jack stood up.

“We need to go to work, together, to work on that drug problem.” Jack said and Nathan stood up as well. “Are we done, please?”

“He gives me a ride to work because I was the victim of a roadrunner-BMW collision and he feels sorry for not believing me at the scene of the accident.” Nathan explained. "It was not my fault."

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Jack said. 

“Maybe you should learn how to be more sympathetic to my needs. Stay, I can take the Jeep and go interrogate _my people._ ” Nathan suggested.

“Your need to hear me say, ‘You were right’?”

“Oh, that is music to my ears.” Nathan said and snapped his fingers. “How about that for wedding vows? For you? Just say, 'You were right'.”

“Fuck work, let’s get married again right now.” Jack said and Nathan smirked at him.

“OK, you two have made your point.” Beverly said and stood up. “However, we’ll pick this up again next week right where we left off.”

“With us leaving?” Jack asked.

“I want answers to my questions, Sheriff.” She replied. “And yes, not getting them may result in you leaving.”

Nathan watched her leave, the power move of walking out before them not lost on him. He rolled his eyes. “Your sperm rants keeping her at bay lasted longer than I thought they would.”

“That’s because they’re not distractions, they’re legitimate problems I have.” 

“I’ll get you the files.” Nathan said and placed a kiss on his forehead. “I’ll explain it myself, tonight.”

“Good. ‘Cause we have also have to talk about our baseball team and when you want to practice. I need to get to the other house and find my mitt in those boxes in your garage….and we should probably prep it for Abby this weekend. We need to prepare for Abby too!” Jack said and pulled him back to him when he went to leave the cell. Abby was going to love Beverly cornering them. Huh. “Hey, I got an idea.”

“Hmmm?” Nathan asked. “Want to get into some other boxes and get out some toys?”

“Um...yes, but not where I was going with this.” Jack said and Nathan waited patiently for him to continue. “Do you mind me telling Abby we are being forced to take therapy?”

Nathan raised his eyebrows. Ohhh….damn. “You’re going to pit Abby and Beverly against each other?”.

“Yeah. I know she’s my ex-wife but I’m her hot mess to over-analyse not some government assigned stranger.” Jack said with a grin. 

“Jack, you're brilliant.” Nathan said and laughed.

“Yeah, well, once you turn that on you can’t exactly turn that off so be prepared for her to be a shrink all weekend.”

“I welcome it.” Nathan said.

“Promise you’ll behave, it’s Zoe’s weekend.”

“I promise.” He said and kissed him gently. “We need to get to work.”

“We do.” Jack nodded and slapped him on the ass. “After you.”

“I should lock you in there.” Nathan mumbled as he left the cell.

“Yeah, well we got some guys locked in a cell at GD who are probably going to start asking for their phone call soon, so we better get going.” Jack said and darted over to his desk to get his tape recorder, remembering his thoughts from earlier about subliminal messages and slowing things down so he could see them. The recorder would come in handy.

  
“Yeah, they don’t get those kinds of rights.” Nathan said and Jack looked at him appalled. “You  _ really should _ read your contract.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was a nod to this musical promo SyFy did for Eureka: https://adage.com/creativity/work/eureka-neighborhood/775


	72. Inquiring Minds

Image inspiration for this chapter: [https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/619270836370735104](https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/619270836370735104)

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 72

**Inquiring Minds**

* * *

  
  


“Maybe, I don’t know, this is just a suggestion, you should actually go talk to them at some point?” Nathan said as he leaned on the wall and looked through the door to the decontamination chamber where Dr. Milton Hauke was handcuffed to a chair. The guy looked pretty rough, he definitely was sweating more than just guilt.

“Do I tell you how to do your job?” Jack asked and looked up at Nathan to see the sweetest, most loving, look in his eye. He really was enjoying this, working together. Jack had to admit he was too, but he had to focus on his interrogation instead of being distracted by Nathan. 

“All the damned time.” Nathan replied and smiled at him, affectionately. 

“Well, I’m sorry you chose to help me do mine and now are stuck in Section Four watching your people have withdrawals.” Jack countered. “But that’s what needs to be done to get these guys to talk.”

“I'm still helping.” Nathan sing-songed.

“No, you’re being pushy.”

“You like when I push.”

“Hey.” Jo snapped. “If you guys are going to rip each other’s clothes off, do it in another room. This is my investigation and if you want to stay you can flirt, but not fuck, in front of me. Clear?”

“Yes.” They replied in unison.

"Good.". Jo said and noticed Stark was still looking at Carter like he was the ray of sunshine in his life as Carter went back to watching Milton intently. Stark really appreciated how Carter worked and was proud of him. They...were really adorable. 

“Let me out! You can’t keep me locked up like this!” Milton screamed from inside the decontamination cell. “LET ME OUT!”

“OK, now seems like a good time.” Jack said and smiled at Jo and she opened the door and they went in together, side by side. Milton was shaking and he gave Jo a nod and she nodded back. They were in agreement that he had more experience with interrogation and he would take the lead. Which was good because he didn’t think this guy would do anything but piss himself if she threatened him. 

“You can’t hold me in here!” Milton yelled and it fell on deaf ears. 

“You should read your contract.” Jack said and pulled out his tape recorder and hit record. Then he looked around for a place to put it and gave up and handed it to Jo. She looked at him like he handed her a telegraph machine. He rolled his eyes. He wasn't _that old,_ this town was just too hung up on it's modern technology and having to be the best. Well, he liked having his hands on stuff that they couldn't tamper with because they thought it was from a museum. Function not fancy. “Look, Milton. I’m not going to ask you misleading, cleaver questions. I’m not going to try and trap you, alright? You work in Section 5, you’re brilliant and I’m not. No point in trying to outsmart you.”

Nathan could see Milton believed that and he wanted to go in there and yell at the guy for underestimating Jack. He really wanted Jack to wow this town by showing he was Chess Jesus and, sadly, he knew it would only happen if the fate of the world depended upon it. He turned his head, as best he could with his sore neck, when he heard the door open. Allison walked in to supervise. “Just in time.”

"I know. I was watching the feed from inside the observation room. I needed a little privacy while I was giving the D.O.D excuses for why their anti-missile shield array wasn't ready yet." She said with smile and watched Carter do his thing.

"I have til Friday." Nathan reminded her.

"You have a casualty and several drug addicts. Fargo and Milton are sidelined." She replied. "Unless you're going to roll up your sleeves and take on this project yourself, you better start coming up with excuses with me."

  
  


Jack said and began circling the guy like a vulture as he heard Allison relay Nathan's predicament to him. He needed to wrap this case up so he could free up Nathan to work. They were a team, and he might not be able to contribute to the science because he dared think it was possible to make a sperm into a giant fish when clearly you could only do that to mammals, but he could help with this part. He could get answers. He knelt down next to Milton's chair and pointed out the door and into the hall. “What _is_ going to happen, is that I’m going to sit in a chair, right out there, and slowly watch you go into withdrawal, until every nerve in your body is on fire. I know that because I’m not a genius, I’m a cop. I deal with drug addicts and I know exactly how this is going to play out.”

Nathan rubbed his fingers together and watched him work. Jack _liked_ being underestimated and it was going to take a lot for him to not set people straight. 

“So I’ll wait. I’ll wait until your skin is crawling and your brain is begging for another hit of whatever the hell is is that you took.” Jack said and pointed to Jo. “Or you can tell me what you took before Deputy Lupo gets the lab results back on that sample and save us, and yourself, serious time.”

Nathan licked his lips. Jack was good. He really wasn’t even turning it on for this guy yet but he appreciated every word and move so far. 

“And you’ll _do time_.” Jack said with a shrug. “Because I have a mushy body pumped full of whatever the hell it is you took and all the evidence points to you. Maybe it’s just negligent homicide, or maybe you’re going to be prosecuted as an actual drug dealer. Don't know yet. What _I do know_ is that your buddy Hawthorne caused a car accident and sent Dr. Stark off the road. That might be attempted murder if I find evidence you all were in this together. You guys are racking up felonies fast. I mean, I guess at 500 mph it’s all about _fast_.”

Nathan watched Milton fidget and shake. They dismissed the theory that his accident was intentional but Jack was still tossing it out there with everything else. He really did like to fish with a lot of bait.

“I didn’t kill him or anybody.” Milton said. “We certainly didn’t want to hurt Dr. Stark.”

“Mmm.” Jack said and bent down and looked him in the eye. “For your sake, I hope not.”

Milton looked away. 

“Fine. We've already built our case and I just need the lab results to make it all official. You had your chance.” Jack said and started walking towards the door. “Enjoy prison. Your drug cooking skills will come in handy there. Sucks for you that the only place that has high enough clearance to cut you a deal for your science skills is GD and I have it on good authority the director is not exactly interested in cutting deals with people trying to kill him.”

“Wait.” Milton said as the Sheriff reached the door and stopped. “We were just trying to keep up.”

Jack turned to look at him. “Yeah? With how fast Nathan drives?”

"I don't know how his accident happened." Milton looked to the Sheriff, then Stark, then back to the Sheriff. “I didn’t know anyone would get hurt.”

“Who else is involved?” Jo demanded.

“Nobody.” Milton replied.

“You’re lying.” Jack said. “The evidence is written on the walls _in my living room_ because someone wrote ‘Back off’ in ketchup after they stole a decoy evidence bag from my husband’s hand last night. So try again.”

“Okay. But first you have to know that it wasn’t my….”

Jack raised his eyebrows as he waited for the guy to continue. Finally after a few seconds he asked, “Wasn’t what?”

Jo gave Jack a shrug as the guy started mumbling and looked like he locked up. So much for the confession. The guy probably melted his own bran with whatever drug he made.

“Milton?” Jack asked and went over to wave his hand in front of the guy’s face to see if he was even functional. “Wasn’t _what_?”

Nathan watched Milton mumble but Jack turned and looked at him like he was at a loss because his suspect just gave him a ‘Blue screen of death’. He explained, “It must be a reaction to coming down off the drug. His metabolism is overcompensating, forcing his nervous system to shut down.”

“Can you counteract it?” Jack asked.

“Not without knowing what he was taking.” Nathan replied. “We can wait on Henry to get us results but by then we’ll have the majority of answers you’re looking for.”

“Not really, _I_ need names. Drug information is great but I need to guys who made the drugs before they kill someone else.” Jack said. “We have Milton’s team, and Dylan, but what if there’s more? We don't know how far this all goes.”

“What did he say?” Allison asked. “I couldn’t understand Milton's mumbling.”

Jack shrugged and Jo did the same, then he saw the recorder in her hand. He remembered his idea about subliminal messages and slowing down the pictures so he could see them. “Oooh. I was prepared for this. I’ll ask my assistant.”

“I swear to God, Carter, you must love me kicking your ass.” Jo said and he rolled his eyes and grabbed his tape recorder that she forgot she was holding.

“Not you, this!” Jack said and rewound the cassette. He adjusted the playback speed and held the recorder out for everyone to hear.

“ _ Just used it and and so did Hawthorne, so you can’t charge me with his death. _ ” The record spat out Milton's confession. “ _ MPH is still experimental, but with it altered like that, but no one thought…” _

“What’s MPH?” Jack asked Nathan. “Miles per hour?”

“I think he’s talking about Methylphenidate Hydrocholoride.” Nathan said. “It’s an advanced form of Ritalin.”

“That’s the drug they’re using on Kevin in the study.” Allison reacted immediately and looked up at Nathan, who was prepared for her to react this way if the clenching of his jaw was any indication. 

“Can you get me a list of everyone who has access to it?” Jack asked and felt a little protective over his husband after noticing the way Allison was glaring at him. How the hell was Nathan at fault for some drug Kevin was on?

“They must have altered it in the lab, changed it’s chemical composition.” Nathan explained to both of them. “I’ll get you a list but it will be a long list. We need to know who altered it and who had access to that person.”

“Dylan is the only one we know of that's not locked up and not knocked out.” Jack said. “So we need to bring him in and we already know he’s aware we’re looking into this.”

"How do we catch someone that can run 500 mph?". Jo asked.

Nathan watched Jack rub his neck,a habit when he was thinking things through. He smiled and put his hand on the back of his neck where there was lump from being shot with a dart last week. "Call Taggart."

Jack narrowed his eyes at him as he rubbed his 'pain in the neck'. "You're going to have him shoot _a high school kid_ with his tranquilizer gun?"

"Yes.". Nathan said. "Only way you're going to get him if he's on MPH, is to catch him standing still."

Jack sighed. Yeah, that was one way of slowing the roadrunner down. "He's a frickin' kid, we can't shot him in the halls of high school like he's an escaped zoo animals."

"Probably the safest way to go. Taser will be way worse and he'll never see Taggart coming". Jo said and waited for Carter to give the nod of approval. Reluctantly he did and she flicked open her phone and speed dialed Taggart. He answered on the second ring. “Hey Tag, want to go hunting?”

Jack raised his eyebrows as she grinned at him and walked out of the lab. Jo was way too exited about that. “Well, I guess the tranquilizer darts haven’t killed anyone yet. We both have been shot with them and survived."

"It's the safest option." Nathan told him. "Taggart cares more for his animals than anyone in GD cares about people, it will be fine."

"That's _so reassuring_." Jack said.


	73. Not Your Fight

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 73

**Not Your Fight**

* * *

"We probably should talk to Dylan’s parents and let them know we gave the go ahead for open season on their student intern drug dealers?” Jack ran his hand through his hair. He wasn’t coming up with an alternative and he found it hard to believe that GD had no other options for trapping something going _really_ fast. It seemed like there should be some kind of fail-safe gun next to the fire extinguisher in case an experiment got out of hand.

“Sure.” Nathan said and opened his phone to see what lab he could find the Hartwells in. “Why don’t you let me talk to them about that since you’re already under fire for how well you handled things at lunch yesterday and I'm their boss.”

“And you’re the shining example of how to relay the dangers someone’s child might be in?” Allison mumbled.

“Ally…” Nathan closed his eyes and prepared himself for the incoming argument. 

“Nathan.” She snapped. “I can’t believe you did that! You convinced me to put Kevin in that study, and now he’s on a drug that killed a man!”

“The drug didn’t kill him, cooking it in the lab did.” Nathan replied.

“Technically shoving your ex-husband off the road and crashing into trees ended up killing him.” Jack clarified and felt Nathan’s hand on his, squeezing and asking him to not join this battle.

“Stay out of this Carter, this isn’t about your kid.” Allison said

“Yeah  _ it is _ . She was dating this guy who cooked the drugs and Nathan’s my husband. So yeah, you accuse him of putting Kevin on something that could hurt him, does involve me.”

“I didn’t give Kevin anything.” Nathan said as the cat-fight heated up and there was no other choice than to confess.

“Oh great, so now you’re going to try and lay the blame on someone else...just like you blamed  _ something _ else for your car accident?” Allison asked and folded her arms over her chest.

“He wasn’t at fault for that either and how dare you imply he’s put your son in danger!” Jack shot back. “Kevin adores him and if you weren’t so focused on drugging him into being normal maybe you’d see how treating him like a normal kid was all it took to make him happy!”

“So now you’re an expert on autism?” Allison rolled her eyes.

“I’m an expert on Nathan Stark and I know he is an amazing father and would never put your kid in danger!” Jack fired back. "Hell, I wish he was my kid's father so that she could have had a better childhood than I gave her."

“I’m telling you Kevin is not on the drug!” Nathan hollered and his voice was enough to shut them both down. “He’s not on MPH, he’s on the placebo.”

“How could you know that?” Allison asked. “It’s a double blind study.”

“Because I cheated.” Nathan said. “Of course I looked, I wasn’t going to let him take something without doing my own research. Besides, MPH is perfectly safe when used properly, but every new drug does have it’s side effects and until we knew more I just….I wasn’t going to take the chance with Kevin.”

“That can’t be..” She protested and looked at Carter and looked away. "He's changed."

Jack realized he was probably needed elsewhere, like maybe on the phone with Henry asking if it was safe to shoot a teenager full of animal tranquilizer. “Uh, I’ll check in with Henry on our drug analysis. Jo is probably slipping into something a little more comfortable, like tactical assault gear, and...I need to Sheriff.”

Allison watched him leave and looked at Nathan. Quietly she said. “Kevin has been so different since he started that trial.”

“Because  _ you’re _ different.” Nathan replied and didn’t want to point out that several other factors changed since last week. He was back in Kevin’s life, Kevin was part of his family, and he even found out that Zoe was sitting with him at lunch. That could be because she didn’t know anyone, but more than likely she caught on to the fact that smart kids were the popular ones and she could use as much help as possible. Or she wanted to get to know her new little brother. He didn’t ask, didn’t tell Jack, and just let them be. Jack might think she’d be better off with a different Dad, but it was because of him that she was a bold and kind kid who could sit at the table with a non-verbal autistic boy and try to strike up a conversation. None of that was relevant now, as Ally only saw the danger her son was in and that the reason he was in it was because of the drug trial. “And progress Kevin has made, is because of his relationship with you. Not because of any drug.”

“And you’ve known about this the whole time?” Allison asked and looked at the door to the lab. “You shared this with Jack, but not me?”

“No, he isn’t exactly interested in reading lab reports or reading in general. He’s come to his own conclusions.” Nathan said and sighed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, I just wanted what was best for Kevin.”

“By lying to me.”

Nathan said nothing, he could feel the threat coming, the threat to take Kevin away again. 

“Thank you for protecting him but don’t ever lie to me again about my son.”

Nathan nodded and she left. He rolled his head back and looked at the ceiling. So now he was going to have to ask Jack to not provoke  _ his  _ ex-wife. Lovely.

* * *

“Hey, Henry. How’s it going?” Jack asked as he walked out of GD and made his way back to his Jeep.

_ “I am still working on that drug analysis, the computer is a little slow here in the garage. Was there a reason you didn’t want GD’s lab to do this?” _

“I think GD has a drug problem and I’m not sure how deep it goes. We also need an independent lab to do this since Nathan is head of GD and was involved in the accident.” Jack explained and leaned on his Jeep’s roof as he talked. “I already had a small sample stolen, someone is trying to cover their tracks.”

_ “Good to know.” _

“Hey, any chance you’re far enough along to determine if shooting animal tranquilizers into someone who was shooting up with this stuff would case a bad reaction?”

_ “If it’s Taggart’s tranquilizer, it’s pretty safe. You don’t have to worry about turning someone into another whale if that’s what you’re worried about.” _

“Yeah.” Jack said with a laugh and then lobbed a soft pitch to see what happened. “I mean, I’m certainly _not_ worried about him turning into a salmon or something because you can’t make a giant _fish_ on accident because you can only supersize mammals.”

_ “Did you suggest….Tagagrt might be making fish... like he made Fudgey?” _

“Maybe.” 

_ “Did Nathan laugh?” _

“Maaaaaybe.”

_ “Did you want me to explain to you how Fudgey came to be?” _

“Please.” Jack said. “He keeps trying to send me to Taggart and I already have visuals of how awful that will be. And he swears he’ll read me the file tonight, but that’s going to last all of one whole paragraph if he uses his sexy science voice. So , please, Henry. Be my science tutor.”

_ “Well, Kim feels bad about missing your barbecue for work so we would like to have you over for dinner to return the favor. I’m sure that will make for an interesting dinner conversation.” _

“That sounds great.” Jack said and tapped his Jeep's emergency lights with his finger. “You don’t have a nicer way of catching my daughter’s boyfriend who runs 500 miles per hour, other than letting Taggart take him down like it’s Tesla High Safari, do you?”

_ “No, I’m sorry. That’s actually a very safe tranquilizer he’s developed.” _

“Yeah, well, you’d say otherwise if you had been shot with it.”

_ “The dart, however, is questionable.” _

“Well, can’t have everything I guess.” Jack said and couldn't say he was upset the kid would get a huge dart in his neck considering he was trashing his house and putting Zoe in danger...and probably killed a guy with drugs. Yeah, maybe Taggart had a larger dart.


	74. Return to Normalcy

_Dissolved_

Chapter 74

**Return to Normalcy**

* * *

Jack left GD and drove towards Tesla High a little anxious about the situation. He wasn't thrilled about taking action against a teenager, but he knew he was mostly upset about the fact Zoe had ties to the guy. His already-troubled teen daughter had managed to attract the attention of the school drug dealer. If this was back in L.A., he would kinda feel better about it because there were a lot of kids doing drugs, but this was Eureka and these kids were supposed to be super kids.  Dylan locked on to Zoe for a reason and he doubted it was because she was screaming ‘Thong’ in the middle of Cafe Diem. He expected boys to notice his daughter, he wasn’t unaware of how many eyes followed her around a room, but it was too much coincidence this guy followed her home. He wasn’t her type. So..what made him take the risk of dating the Sheriff’s daughter? 

He was looking into this too much. He had a great kid and he wanted to believe she was everyone’s type. However he knew she struggled to find her place, she was clearly too smart for L.A. schools and Eureka might be more her level, but they still looked down on her because she wasn’t from around here and her Dad was an idiot. God, he really didn’t like this Dylan kid, especially now that he was questioning what he saw in Zoe. He really hoped when he interrogated him he would admit that he was just looking for a way in the bunker to keep apprised of the investigation.

And that was awful in itself.

He drove through town and looked at everyone walking on the streets. Callie, the dry cleaning lady, waved at him and he made a show of tapping his watch and mouthing the word ‘later’ so she knew he’d be by to pick up all Nathan’s stained clothes. She seemed nice and normal, but she had a PhD in something and that was far from normal. Doctorate of Laundry, was that even a thing? Surely he couldn’t complain because Nathan was far from upset when his very expensive clothes got stained and he was certain it had to do with his confidence in her competence. 

He frowned. What was really bothering him? Tranquilizer darts or his daughter being the drug dealer’s type? Was he overreacting? Was he just now accepting that she didn’t fit in here either, and admitting that meant that he most certainly did not either. Well...this town had its share of problems and was hardly in a position to look down on them. Well, it was hard to look at _anything_ below you when you were always looking up to the next accomplishment, the next breakthrough. A dose of normal could very well be exactly what they needed to rebalance the scale, they had too many overachievers around here looking at the future and not existing in the present.

  
  


Maybe this town  _ really did  _ need an average cop looking at things below the surface because it wasn't as different from the rest of America like everyone wanted to believe. They all quoted the brochure about Eureka's amazing benefits and opportunities but so far he had witnessed the effects of the pressures put on all of them to perform. Walter Perkins made himself a family, but under the surface, in the basement, he was pushing himself to create a machine that could end the world. That PX-319 seemed like a bad idea all around, but even Nathan fell victim to that same formula and was worried that his ‘Artifact’ was going to be his own downfall. Allison didn’t help, she was pushing him to pick up the pieces of this Anti-Missile project now that his teams were sidelined because they started using drugs. People were doing drugs so they could do more science to save the world, but killed someone in the process. What a weird place Eureka was, but oddly...normal? People were still people, making mistakes, trying to get ahead.

His eyes were going to have to be honed to see the signs of people cracking, the fissures that indicated the crust was heaving under the pressure of the bubbling lava underneath. If he could intervene before they blew, maybe he could make a difference?

Or not. 

There were so many people here that he was never going to get ahead of whatever disaster of the week was looming. He could help one person though, he could help Nathan. This wasn't the first time Nathan stepped in to complete a project and they had only been here a week! Allison implied she expected him to do it again which _really_...pissed him off.  She didn't do that with Warren King when he was here the first time. They had a wormhole eating up pieces of people and RVs and yet she defended him. Nathan had his ego, but he was genuinely trying to do his best and tried to help. Hell, he should just fire the teams that were working on this project, cancel the project and blame it on Dr. King, but he was going to push ahead and do it himself to save Global Dynamics anyway.

Yeah. Maybe he just had to save one person and in doing so, they could save everyone else together. That was a plan. A good plan. He had personal stakes in it being a good plan so he better make good on it.

Speaking of plans, he realized he really didn’t have one for taking Dylan into custody other than shooting him with an animal tranquilizer. He saw Jo’s cruiser and Taggart’s truck on the side of the road and pulled up behind them. They were staging and prepping for moving in on the high school. They were also having a  _ good day _ . All smiles, lots of guns, complimenting each other’s camo. _Good times._ Jack hated to ruin it, but he didn't have much of a plan other than nailing some kid with a Rhino sized tranq dart and they needed more to go on. He parked, got out of the Jeep and interrupted. “Hey guys.”

“Sheriff.” Taggart said proudly as Carter arrived. “I’m honored to be of service.”

Jack smiled at him. Yeah, way  _ way _ too happy to be using his gun on the kid. “I appreciate your help.”

Taggart stroked his gun and kissed the barrel. “I promise, we’ll be gentle.”

“There is  _ nothing _ gentle about that thing.” Jack said as he recalled his first day in town when he met Taggart. “Any chance you have another option? Maybe a net launcher or the bubble things that saved Fargo from drowning in Nathan’s pool?”

“No?” Taggart replied and hugged his gun closer to his body.

“Ok, well, I tried.” Jack said and put his hands in his pockets. “So what’s the plan?”

“You need to draw him out and I’ll shoot him.” Taggart said, simply.

“Me.” Jack said and looked over at Jo. 

“I’m his spotter.” Jo explained.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Great.”

“We’d like to take up a position on the roof of the school.” Jo offered her contribution to the plan. “So if you could draw him out to...the parking lot? That would be great.”

“How?” Jack asked. “Do these kids go out to lunch? Do they have recess? Do they have a fifteen minute break where they come outside and discover new planets?”

Jo and Taggart both looked at him and Jo sighed. “Do you even talk to your daughter? Do you really think she has recess in high school?”

Jack shook his head and pulled out his phone to call Nathan instead of admitting he had no idea what Zoe’s schedule was or what classes she was taking. He needed to find out if they even had the authority to take this kid down. Nathan answered quickly, he sounded happy he called even though they were together less than half an hour ago.

“ _ Miss me? _ ”

“Always.” Jack replied. “But I’m calling for official business.”

_ “I just talked to the Hartwells.” _

“And?”

_ “They’re pretty proud of Dylan for his breakthrough. _ ”

“They’re  _ proud _ of him for cooking drugs?”

_ “Well his Dad is a Nobel laureate in Chemistry and his Mom is a physicist. So, they feel like he’s doing them both proud creating a compound that enables a human being to operate beyond the abilities of the human body.”  _

“Did you tell them he killed a man?”

_ “With great risks, come great rewards. _ ” Nathan chirped. 

“Why does this feel like you’re going to tell me I can’t charge him with anything because he’s going to be hired at GD for his work?”

_ “Oh no.” _

Jack smiled. Finally! Justice would be his!

_ “He’s an intern, his work is property of GD and I don’t need to do more than credit him. I doubt he can serve up a repeat performance. He doesn’t handle pressure well and clearly is a one hit wonder. Unfortunately, we will need to discuss what risk are accepted by my employees when they sign on to work here." _

“Clearly.” Jack said dryly. There was a clause in the contract for 'willing to die for science', he just knew it. How was he going to get this kid? Call in a fire drill? No...that would get everyone out and he needed to get Dylan alone. Maybe he could search his locker for drugs, certainly they still did that around here? “Hey, any chance this cancels his internship?”

_ “It does.” _

“Any chance I can deliver that news?” Jack asked. 

_ “Funny you should bring that up. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about your role in redactions at GD.” _

“My role?” Jack asked. 

_ “You escort people out of town. Allison should have read you in on that but you also should have read that in your contract so...” _

“Ok. I can work with that.” Jack said. 

_ “Really?” _

“Yeah, we’ll talk about this later. I don’t want to talk with Allison about it because I’m sure I’m on her shit list now. I'll be on your shit list if I go off on her again.”

_ “Yeah.....We need do need to talk about that later.” _

“Great. I’ll see you back at GD when we bring Dylan in for questioning. I can promise not to antagonize your ex, if you don’t verbal eviscerate mine.” 

_ “I’ll look forward to it.” _

Jack smiled. Nathan was in such a good mood and it was nice to be cooperating on this. Jack turned to his team and was not surprised to see them in a good mood because they were cooperating on this mission too. Wasn’t surprised _at all_ to see Jo’s hand on Taggart’s pants pocket talking about all the ample space for extra magazines.  _ Lord _ . “I’m going to go into school and revoke Dylan’s internship and confiscate the stuff in his locker. That should lure him out.” 

“Ok.” Jo said. “We’ll get into position on the roof.”

“Just make sure it’s not missionary.” Jack mumbled as he went back to his Jeep and hoped they could hold off on celebrating until Dylan was in custody. Oh, the Sheriff’s Department was going to have one hell of a reputation.


	75. Schooled

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 75

**Schooled**

* * *

  
  


This was the first time Jack had walked in the building at Tesla High as Zoe preferred to just be dropped off at the curb to avoid being embarrassed by him. All the transfer paperwork had been done electronically when she switched schools and he gave her the freedom to check herself in at the office by herself, mainly to test her and see how committed she was to this ‘great education’ she said she wanted. Tesla, looked like your average high school. He wasn’t expecting that.  There was one exception: most of the trophy cases were filled with academic achievements and not athletic trophies. The few sports trophies were for virtual baseball and robotic swimming. He couldn’t help but wonder what other schools they played against in those leagues. 

He quit gawking and made his way to the office and entered, he put on a friendly smile for the receptionist. “Hi. I’m Sheriff Jack Carter I…”

“Are finally here to schedule time for your parent-teacher conference.” She asked.

Jack bit his lip. Maybe leaving everything to Zoe wasn’t his best move. He looked at the sign designating this woman's name and title and she was Dr. Olivia Andrews, PhD. There was a doctorate in....receptionist? Maybe she was the principal? “No. I’m actually here to search Dylan Hartwell’s locker for drugs and talk to him about his internship at GD.”

“It will only take a minute to schedule _your_ appointment.” Andrews replied. “You should have come in last week to do it.”

“OK. My bad.” Jack said. “Right now _I’m working_ and this is an official police investigation and I will have to come back to that.”

“When?”

“Later.” Jack said and repeated his request. “Locker number and a school representative to supervise the tossing of said locker, please.”

“Fine. I will get the principal. However you will be getting a packet with your required paperwork to take with you. There is a Parent Teacher Association meeting next week as well, and you should consider attending.” Andrews said and did not move to get the principal and instead started printing off paperwork that should have been gone over electronically and signed. However, this was clearly an exception to the usual and was going to require hard copies.

“Right.” Jack said and waited for the woman to do something other than print some stuff. “Uh...perhaps I can just talk to the principal about this while you do that?”

“Sure. Right through that door.” Andrews said and pointed to the door that clearly said 'Principal's Office'.

Jack shook his head and walked towards an office and knocked on the door. Behind him the printer was spitting out volumes of paper than he could only assume was his homework to bring to the parent-teacher meeting. Well, good thing Abby was coming into town. This would give them something to do together. He heard someone say ‘come in’ so he opened the door and entered the office. “Hi, I’m Sheriff Jack Carter and I need to search a student’s locker?”

“Dr. Ewing.” An older man introduced himself, stood up and walked over to shake the Sheriff’s hand. “Hopefully you’re not concerned about Zoe?”

“No. Yes. No. Not her.” Jack said and smiled. “Uh, Dylan Hartwell. He’s a person of interest in a drug problem I’m trying to sort out at GD. I’d like to do a search before bringing him in for questioning. I also need to revoke his internship. Figure we can just roll all that into one so I don't have to ruin his day too many times.”

“Day? More like life. An internship at GD is everything, Sheriff Carter.” Ewing said and crossed his arms and sat on the edge of his desk.

“Well, then maybe he should leave cooking drugs at GD instead of taking them, and taking them with him.” jack replied. This guy looked like he was getting settled in for a fight. He new that look, he had dealt with enough at attorneys in his life.

“Since when is it discouraged to bring experiments home?” 

“Since it’s  _ a drug _ .” 

“Is it section 5? I can’t understand why the change in policy.”

“A man is dead. And he was section 5.” Jack said and that still didn’t faze Dr. Ewing. Change in policy? The kids were allowed to take GD projects home with them? What?! 

“And what proof do you have that Dylan was involved.”

“Plenty, but I think his internship being revoked is evidence enough of his wrongdoing?” Jack asked. That seemed to win the guy over because, of course, Dr. Nathan Stark would _never_ fire someone unless they did science wrong. 

“Alright.” Dr. Ewing said. “This has nothing to do with him being caught kissing your daughter in homeroom?”

Jack frowned. “Ok, I’ll freak out about that later, but right now I’m going to get pissed about you implying I am trying to scare off my daughter’s boyfriend by accusing him of being a drug dealer.”

“Don’t forget that you’re married to the director of GD who has the power to take away his internship.” Ewing added.

“We’re not the bad guys here. Stop questioning our integrity.”

“I fail to see how a student’s work in the field of chemistry would remove him from a valuable position he rightfully earned at Global.” Ewing continued.

Jack wished he had Henry’s pen. This guy deserved to have a 3D juicy body hologram slapped on his desk. “Because his chemistry rendered some dude’s anatomy into a Jell-O mold and he cooked it to cheat and get ahead.”

“Well, why didn’t you say that to begin with.” Ewing opened his drawer and got out the locker keys. “We do not tolerate cheating.”

“But you tolerate  _ murder _ ?” Jack asked.

“If that man was Section 5 I can not believe that our student was the cause of his death.” Ewing said. “If anything, I would like to request an investigation be opened to find out what _ they  _ stole from Dylan that ended up causing a man's death. If Dylan’s work was groundbreaking enough to get the attention of Section 5 scientists, they clearly were trying to take it for themselves. " 

“They all took it, alright.” Jack said. “They’re all having withdrawals right now and wishing they were the people pudding at the bottom of a hill like their friend.”

“If it’s his work, I will see that he gets credit for it.” Ewing said sternly.

“We are really taking two entirely separate approaches to the same thing.” Jack said. “I, too, am trying to give him credit for his work. His work that killed a man. His work vandalizing my home. His work stealing evidence.”

“GD offers these kids internships and takes their hard work, hands it over to their scientists and leaves them with no credit. I have been fighting for their rights, for years.” Ewing ignored him and went back to explaining his problems with the situation. The true injustice here. 

“Ok.” Jack said and followed him out of the office and saw a stack of papers on the counter that looked like War and Peace had just been reprinted in every language known to man and packaged as one book. “If GD is so evil, why entertain internships at all?”

Dr. Ewing and Dr. Andrews both looked at the Sheriff appalled. Ewing stammered, “I want more rights for my students, credit for their work. I don’t want them to throw away their lives by denying them access to the greatest scientific facility in the world.”

“Right.” Jack said. “So back to giving Dylan  _ the credit _ for possession of a drug in a school zone.”

“Locker number 867.” Dr. Andrews announced. 

“Great. Lead the way.” Jack said and followed Ewing out of the office and wondered why _absolutely everything_ in this town had to be so damned difficult. He knew this guy was just trying to provoke him into saying ‘Take it up with my husband’ so they could drag Nathan into the Parent Teacher conference. Well, the joke was on them, because they were getting Abby this time.

“What are you looking for?” Ewing asked as he went through his keys to find the right one for the locker.

“Drugs?” Jack said. Were these people deaf? Or was it just selective hearing for people above an IQ of 111.

“You think he’s keeping this dangerous drug in his school locker?” Ewing prodded.

“It’s helping him cheat, so yes.” Jack replied, not willing to argue with this guy anymore and not eager to give up any more details. They reached the locker and the principal waited and looked at him, not moving to opened it up. At this rate, Taggart and Jo were probably halfway through the Kama Sutra up on the roof. “Problem?”

“Dylan’s not here yet. Dr. Andrews went to get him out of class, per protocol. Students privacy is important to us at Tesla High. What you are proposing it to go through his locker which could hold very important research or classwork. We will not compromise his rights or put ourselves in the position to be liable if some of that work went missing. You want the same for your daughter, don't you.”

“Right.” Jack said and leaned on the lockers. Eureka, where everyone had rights except for the officer of the law. 

“Here they are now.” Ewing said and noticed Dylan was a bit nervous. “Dylan, Sheriff Carter is requesting a locker search.”

“Is this because I kissed Zoe?”

Jack looked over his shoulder and hoped Taggart brought a whale sized dart for this kid. Clever attempt on his part to make this personal even though he was sweating already. “No, it’s because of MPH.”

Dylan tried to look like he didn’t know what that was. He knew he failed as Carter was giving him a smug look. “I was...speeding? In my car? So you are searching _my locker_?”

“Yeah.” Jack said and smiled at him and the boy looked at the floor. He kinda hoped he would make a run for it, but he stood there trying to pretend to be innocent. So he started going through his locker and found that damned calendar centerfold of Nathan on the back of the locker wall. He rolled his eyes. He checked pockets, checked books, nothing incriminating. Dylan had to be keeping this a secret, not because he feared the legal repercussions, but because the Tesla kids would surely look down on him for not being able to keep up with them without enhancements. He found nothing, but he did grab Nathan’s naked radiation picture for himself. “This is _mine_.”

“OK.” Dylan said.

Jack held up Nathan's poster. He pointed to his pretty, naked husband. "He says your internship is revoked. So I have to confiscate whatever stuff looks like it belongs at GD."

"Did you find anything?" Dr. Ewing asked, annoyed with the Sheriff. Sheriff Cobb would never....

“Other than this poster, nothing suspicious.” Jack said and folded up his Nathan poster for himself and smiled at the boy. “I guess I’ll just have to get a warrant to search your house. Oh...actually Dr. Stark already informed your parents and I’m sure they’ll be more than willing to let me in to do a search. Well, thanks for your time everyone.”

Dr. Andrews watched him slam the locker shut and then start walking down the hallway to leave. “Hey! You better stop and get your paperwork from the office!”

“Ah, send it home with my daughter.” Jack yelled back and kept walking. He pulled his phone out to give Jo the heads up he was leaving the building and he hoped Dylan’s nervousness was an indicator he was just about dumb enough to confront him in the parking lot before he could get to his house. 


	76. Lure

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 76

**Lure**

* * *

Jack left the school building after admiring a poster for Friday’s upcoming play, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Invasion’, in order to give Dylan time to follow him. He walked to his Jeep, carrying his newly acquired poster of his naked husband, and was pretty happy that he cheated the system: The poster was his without having to deal with 30 days of no injury. He couldn’t wait to hang this somewhere he could flaunt it.

Life was good, until the poster was ripped from his hands and ripped in half. He had the bottom section of the centerfold portrait in his hand, radiation sign and legs. Dammit! Why couldn’t this town let him have _anything_? He turned to look at the reason his prize was now destroyed. Dylan was standing there, centerfold crumpled in his hand. “You just had to destroy _that?_ ”

“Why couldn’t you just leave it alone?” Dylan screamed and threw the calendar on the ground. “I told you to  _ back off _ .”

Jack put the remaining piece of his centerfold photo under his windshield wiper in order to avoid losing it. He turned to Dylan. “You know I couldn't do that. A man died.”

“You had to keep pushing. Everybody’s always pushing, all the time. You don’t know what it’s like!”

“Yeah, believe it or not, I do.” Jack said and opened up his phone and called Jo and left it on the hood of his Jeep. Taggart needed to pull the trigger soon, this kid was unraveling fast. “But I doubt you want to hear about any of that. So, why don’t we talk about you? Let's go to GD. Maybe you can talk to them about your drug so they can come up with a way to help you through the withdrawals? Maybe we can talk about all this and figure out what really happened to Dr. Hawthorne so I don't have to charge someone with murder?”

“I cooked the MPH so I could keep up!” Dylan screamed. “They came to me, I wasn’t dealing it. They said if I helped them, they would help me!”

“Hawthorne and Hauke?” Jack asked. “The Section 5 guys approached you?” 

“They said they would help me..help me move up? You know?” Dylan shrieked. “Now I’m going to lose my internship! Do you have any idea how hard I worked for that!?”

“Dylan, you’ve got to trust me.” Jack replied. “This is way easier if you cooperate.”

“I told Hawthorne to watch the dosage!” Dylan squatted down and tried to crush his head with his hands. “I told them!”

“So, it’s an accident, right?” Jack said. “You can come back from this as long as you don’t do anything stupid. More stupid.”

“Don’t call me stupid!” Dylan snapped.

“You have to listen to me!” Jack watched the kid stand up, pissed. Oh, great. The speed drug also had a rage function. 

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Dylan rushed him, sped to him, and slammed him into the Jeep and took his gun.

Jack fell to the ground after being smashed into his Jeep. He got up, groaned, and saw the gun in the boy’s hand. He checked his holster. Shit!  _ Any day now Taggart! _ ! “Put the gun down, Dylan.”

“Why? So I can go to jail for the rest of my life?”

“Does anyone go to jail around here?” Jack asked. “I’m here to confiscate GD’s property, not arrest you. But if you shoot me, my husband gets pissed and will finally let me arrest someone. Or his people will. If that happens you’ll get to Section 5 alright, as the research. Just like Walter Perkins. Remember him? He was in your school gymnasium last week and now he’s living in some ghost therapy box in the basement of GD. It doesn’t have to end like this.”

“I can’t go to jail!!!” Dylan screamed and raised the gun and then froze up and dropped it. 

Jack watched the kid pitch forward, then land face first on the asphalt of the parking lot with a huge dart sticking out of his buttcheek. He looked up at the roof and looked around for his phone. He found it on the ground, having been knocked loose from its perch when he was smashed into the car. “Hey guys. Uh..took your time with that.”

_ “Well he was wearing a hoodie and Tag didn’t have a clear shot at his neck. He didn’t want to shoot him for fear of pushing some foreign material into the body with the dart. So I took his gun and shot him in the ass since Department insurance will cover that sort of exploratory infirmary visit.” _

“I appreciate it, partner.”

_ “Good. You got that handled down there? _ ”

Jack looked up at her and realized there were going to be two crazy kids making out on the roof in a second. “Yeah, I got this. Take your lunch.”

_ “With pleasure.” _

Jack hung up and realized it was going to be up to him to drag Dylan’s unconscious body into the back seat of his Jeep by himself. Super. 


	77. Burden of Proof

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 77

**Burden of Proof**

* * *

“So let me get this straight.” Nathan said as he looked at his husband sitting on the tailgate of his Jeep. “You were concerned about shooting this kid with animal tranquilizers, but not about shooting him in the ass and stuffing him in your trunk like a deer?”

“OK, one.” Jack said and ran over the tailgate of his Jeep. “This is not a trunk, but a spacious cargo compartment.”

“Right.” Nathan said. “My bad. Truly need to get my technology right before I need to whore GD out to sponsors to keep it funded. At this rate it could be next week.”

“Two.” Jack said and held up two fingers. “Jo had to shoot him in the ass because he took my gun and his hoodie was protecting his neck.”

“Are you just planning to leave the dart there so when he wakes up you can tell him this and influence his fashion choices?” Nathan tried not to be drawn in by Jack’s adorable smile. 

“Actually, I left it in there because Taggart seemed a little worried about injecting denim into his ass along with the dose of tranqs.” Jack said and Nathan reached out and pulled the dart out of the kid’s ass. “Which apparently you’re not as worried about.”

“I’m pretty sure my doctor’s don’t need an arrow to locate the puncture wound. There is more of a danger of the needle bending or breaking with it sticking out like this.” 

“Cool.” Jack said. “Glad I took so much care wrestling him in here.”

“Is that why all your emergency tow straps are everywhere?” Nathan asked.

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t Jo or Taggart help you?”

  
  
“They were busy _debriefing_.” Jack said and smiled at him. 

“Why did you call me to the Receiving dock to help you with the body in your trunk?”

“Because you said like working together?” Jack said. “And I thought it would be easier to have you bark orders to your people than to explain all this myself.”

“OK, that’s fair.” Nathan said and opened his phone to call the infirmary and order some techs to come down for Dylan. He'd be waking up soon if his own experience with the Taggart's knock-out drugs told him anything. Best to wake up in the infirmary than bound with tow straps and stuffed in the Sheriff’s trunk.

  
  


* * *

“He’s looking rough.” Jack said as Dylan squirmed and fought the handcuffs in the same chair Dr. Houck was in earlier. It took an hour for the tranquilizer to wear off and the doctors ran MRIs or Ultrasound or something to check for jean material injected into the muscle. He got the all clear and the immediate escort to Section 4. 

“Might be a reaction between the tranquilizer and MPH.” Nathan said and Jack looked at him genuinely worried. “Or, his ass hurts. I told them to lay off the Lidocaine to numb it until he was interrogated.”

“Oh, yeah.” Jack said with a laugh. No sympathy there.

“Do you want to question him so I can turn him over to security or his parents?” Nathan prodded. Working with Jack was great, but he had a lot of work he needed to get done that didn't involve Jack.

“Why don’t you?” Jack asked and Nathan looked surprised. “Look, he thinks I’m an idiot. He also thinks I’m going to send him straight to jail without passing GO and collecting his $200. So, why don’t you go in there and ask him to justify keeping him around by telling us everything about MPH. Who he gave it to. Where he’s cooking it. You know, stuff I care about.”

“What do I get out of this?”

Jack sighed. “What do you want?”

“My people working instead of sitting in security waiting to brought up on murder charges.” Nathan replied. “I’m behind schedule as it is.”

“Nathan…”

“Jack. Hawthorn voluntarily took the drug. They all did. That is covered under their contract as a risk they accept for science and an absolution of guilt on GD’s part for the danger of that risk.” Nathan looked at Dylan trying to get comfortable in his chair. “This kid, albeit by not so honorably means, cooked up a very interesting compound that I would like to continue research on.”

“Oh come on!” Jack said. “A guy died! The same guy who could have killed you.”

“He’s dead.” Nathan replied. “And I have in front of me a drug that has the potential to save lives. I also have a team of people who need to be creating an Anti-Missile Shield Array by weeks’ end or I’m looking at another D.O.D. visit. I don’t want this drug issue getting out of hand or back to them, the best I can do is explain it away as an experimental drug test and see what I can do with it.”

Jack frowned. “I take it back. I don’t want you to interview him or help me.”

“This is the best outcome for everyone.”

“Except Dr. Hawthorne.”

“He took the drug. There was no way a Section 5 researcher didn’t comprehend the risk.”

“I can’t actually charge any of these people with anything can I?” Jack asked. 

“Not really.”

“And Dylan isn’t actually losing his internship.”

“Oh..he’s going to wish he did.” Nathan said with a smile. “He’ll be working for his parents now, working on MPH.”

“This sucks.” Jack said. 

“Would you rather put a high school senior away in prison? No? Now consider that he will never see prison because he created something that he could easily sell to a private company for his 'Get out of Jail Free' card? That does happen Jack, and his parents know it. I happen to be the guy who gets the call first, but if I pass and there are some very deep pockets in the private sector and some excellent lawyers on retainer who will grab the culls before they hit the system.”

“This sucks a lot.”

“If I talk to him he gets a deal.” Nathan said. “You talk to him and you’re just going to get a great deal of aggravation when the D.O.D. refuses to press charges and sends this guy to some other research facility instead of corrections facility.”

“He’ll crack. This kid…” Jack said with a shake of his head. “Doesn’t handle the pressure well.”

“Well, then let the pressure crack him, not some company who is going to crack him open for his knowledge and profit off him and kick him to the streets with nothing.”

“Isn’t that what GD is going to do?”

“I’m giving him to his parents.” Nathan clarified. “They get to fix the damage their pressure caused and deal with the cracks. That’s a deal I made with them to keep their kid out of jail.”

“Fine.” Jack said as he looked at Dylan and realized he was  _ just a damned kid _ . Nathan was right....kinda. “He didn’t manufacture with intent to sell, your Section 5 guys convinced him they would help him in exchange for this drug. So, after they finish their project, they better be getting some kind of disciplinary action.”

“Like working with the Hartwells on the MPH project? It's going to be Section 5, for sure.”

“I don’t even know how Anti-MIssile Shield Array and 500 miles per hour Ritalin overlap, but yeah I guess.”

“Chemistry and Physics.” Nathan said. 

“Two of your degrees.” Jack shook his head. “So by letting them work I keep you from having to do their work.”

“That’s not a factor in this.” Nathan said and this was going to be the compromise they had to keep out of this working relationship. "Do you need to call in JO to make this call?"

“I’m already past wanting this kid to rot in prison. Not going to ruin his life because he was trying to get ahead in school. He's 17...maybe 18? God, he doesn't know what the hell he was doing. But there better be community service and….stuff. He better see Beverly too. Fine, talk to him. Just don’t tell him you're going to give him some soothing ass cream, he had your poster in his locker.”

“Jack, you are literally the only person in the world who would grin at me and make a lewd joke about _that_ if you were in this situation.” Nathan said, but smiled at him. “Thanks for...seeing an alternative outcome to this situation.”

“It’s what would have happened anyway.” Jack pouted. “You just...were honest about it and made it seem like my idea.”

“Soothing ass cream will be coming your way tonight, for sure.” Nathan said with a smile. “Good thing you got your poster already, because the Safety Tally was rolled back to zero yesterday with Hawkthorne’s death.”

“Dammit. I only have the bottom half.”

“Is that really all I am to you?” Nathan asked innocently and Jack looked him in the eye. “You just want what’s below the belt and not my brain….my heart...my talent tongue?”

Jack pulled him over by his belt and smirked. “Go interrogate your suspect while I watch and then I’ll take you out to lunch.”

“That reminds me.” Nathan said with a smile. “You told me to start planning the wedding this morning…”

“I did.” Jack said and pointed to the crying kid in the decontamination room. “I also told you to go interrogate the suspect a minute ago. So, now he’s crying on his own and you don’t get credit for that. So hurry up so we can eat and celebrate our joint efforts.”

“Yes, sir, Sheriff.” Nathan said and wished he could lean down and kiss him but it would have been inappropriate considering they were doing this right outside a glass observation window that was not one-way glass. He backed up, tapped the button on the door and walked in the room. “So Dylan, ,I hear you’ve been taking samples of your own from the MPH drug trial and cooking it to your liking.”

“Dr. Stark!?” Dylan yelped. “I..swear I just...was trying…”

“I don’t care what you were trying to do, I care about what you did. So let’s start talking about the adjustments you made to MPH and how you might be able to salvage your internship by providing me with a reason to keep you on board at GD. " Nathan folded his hands in front of him and looked down at the kid. "And let me make myself perfectly clear, I do mean, how do I profit off of your invention? You have one minute to consider what it will take to turn this situation from one unfortunate death to the potential to save countless lives. And go!”


	78. Reservations

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 78

**Reservations**

* * *

  
  


Jack was quiet during lunch and Nathan wasn’t surprised at all about that. He reached over and started stealing Jack’s french fries to get his attention and it took longer than expected.

“Ruining your diet?” Jack asked. “Since when do you like fatty, fried foods sticking to your chiseled abs?”

“I like them, I just have impulse control and a strict diet.”

“Mmm.” Jack said. “Here I thought having sex with you at lunch and dinner would ensure you actually ate, and all I needed to do was make you worry about me.”

“Although I appreciate the genius of training me like Pavlov’s dogs to drool on command at your insatiable appetite.” Nathan said and ate another french fry. “I would be just as happy with you asking me to eat with you. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not inclined to deny your requests.”

“It was positive reinforcement.” Jack said and could see Nathan was still worried about him. “Look, I’m not mad.”

“I can see that.”

“I’m a little frustrated.” Jack admitted then added, “Not at you.”

“Ok.” Nathan said and waited for it and Jack finally pushed his plate aside to put his hands on the table to try to do something with them instead of talking with them. 

“I get it.” Jack said and kept staring at his hands. He started playing with his wedding ring to keep his hands busy. “I know how the government works, I was a US Marshal for God’s sake. You and I worked a major drug bust together, we both know how the Judicial system will cut a deal with someone for the greater good. I know...that you know this case has brought up some bad memories for me between the accident and some teenager making a stupid decision. I know you cut that kid some slack because I brought up Angela Fairfield yesterday and you didn’t want Dylan’s life weighing over me too. I know it sounds hypocritical, but he and I aren’t the same and...I still went through the motions of being brought up on charges and having that on my record. It’s sealed but...it’s still there for the record. Not charging him, is like turning a blind eye to the death of Dr. Hawthorne and neglecting my duties. Deal or no deal.”

“Charge him with what?” Nathan asked. “Hawthorne overdosed.”

“Yeah. With an modified experimental drug stolen from a science facility. There are plenty of charges.”

“None Global Dynamics will press.”

“What about Hawkthorne’s family?”

“They’re employed by Global.” Nathan said. “I already notified them of his death and presented them with the evidence. They will not press charges either.”

Jack leaned back in the booth and looked to the ceiling. “So the coroner is going to rule it an overdose? Or, rather, the Medical Examiner?”

“Henry said he’d forward us the drug analysis, however that won’t prove anything.” Nathan said and reached out to take Jack’s hand. “I’m not trying to dissuade you from doing your job.”

“I know. You told me I was going to hate how you did your job and now I’m seeing it. You’re really good at the political and management maneuvers, something I recognized...but I guess I thought it was going to come down to more of a battle between you and me. I know you’re not using your position to shut me down and I know you’re doing what is best for everyone, but where is the justice?”

“Jack, most of the time deaths are ruled an accident in Eureka because they are  _ just that _ .” Nathan said and squeezed his hand. 

“I get it.” Jack said and looked at him and smiled. “I’m just frustrated at the situation. Trust me, it’s not the first time this has happened to me in my line of work. I truly don’t want to see Dylan locked up. However, it needs to be made perfectly clear to him he’s on probation.”

“I made it pretty clear he only has one chance and he better make the most of it.” Nathan said. 

“Ok.” Jack nodded and leaned forward and wrapped his hands around Nathan’s hand and brought it to his lips and kissed it. “I’ll get with Jo and bounce it all off her and see what she wants to do. It’s her case.”

“She’s still not back from lunch?” Nathan asked and raised his eyebrows.

“Like we’re ones to talk.” Jack said and Nathan smirked at him. 

“You raise a good point.” Nathan replied and Jack let him have his hand back, so he pushed his plate back over to him and stole another french fry. “So on to new business.”

“Oh God.”

“Our wedding.”

“ _Oh God_.”

“You still haven’t gotten measured for your uniform or suit.” Nathan said and Jack rolled his eyes.

“I’ve been busy.”

“Well, we are in town, you haven’t picked up my dry cleaning, and we should get you measured while we’re there.”

“Wait. The dry cleaning lady is the seamstress?” Jack asked. Another one of those 'there is probably a sign in the window, dumbass' moments. Apparently he did need to read more.

“Most dry cleaners offer alterations.” Nathan replied. “And her name is Callie and I think she has a crush on you.”

“Right.” Jack said with a chuckle. “In this town? Someone looking at me and picturing me naked? Slim chance.”

“Well, I would like to accompany you, nonetheless.”

“Jealous?” Jack laughed. “Or just skeptical that I’ll go do what you tell me to?”

“Both.”

“Aren’t you supposed to get fitted on an empty stomach?” Jack said and picked up his hamburger. “So, you know, it fits?”

“This is a preliminary measure, alterations will come later.”

“Sure. We’ll go get your dry cleaning, hand in hand, and smile when we talk about all the semen stains she had to remove from your coat. Then you can watch as she runs her hands all over me and measures the body she clearly can’t help but eye bang.” Jack said with a laugh and took a bite of hamburger. He mumbled with a full mouth, “Weird kink, but OK.”

“I know what I see.” Nathan said and pulled out his tablet.

“Hey.” Jack said and tried not to spray hamburger as he talked. “No working on lunch.”

“No lunch _on my work_.” Nathan shook his head and wiped his tablet screen off as Jack spit ground beef on it. 

Jack swallowed and repeated himself. “I don’t pay attention to you for two seconds and you go back to work. This is why women are ready to pounce on me when you take your eyes off me.”

"Like I said, I know what I see." Nathan tapped his tablet and shoved it across the table at Jack who was wiping his mouth. “Not work related. It’s _us_ related. Putnam send me the album of our pool photo shoot and I think we should combine our marriage announcement with a ‘Save the Date’ wedding announcement.”

“We look…” Jack picked up the tablet and stared at the black and while photo of him pushing Nathan against the wall of the pool, hands on his suit jacket, and laughing at him for his idea of spontaneity. Of course, his husband looked amazing and like it was totally natural for a grown man to be in a pool wearing a suit. Jack smiled because they looked good together. Their smiles were so genuine and their eyes focused only on each other. “We look so happy.”

“We are.” Nathan said and Jack looked up at him with the most spectacular smile.

“We  _ are _ .” Jack said and looked down at the tablet again, flipping through as they went from a stunning ‘engagement’ photo, to an intimate kiss, to an immature splashing battle and Nathan picking him up bridal style and throwing him into the deep end. They...were the perfect picture of two people in love. 

“So?” Nathan asked. “Do you like it?”

“I love them. I love  _ us _ .” Jack said and looked up as Nathan rested his elbow on the table and put his chin on his hand to watch him. 

“The announcement idea?” Nathan asked as Jack just looked at him and froze up with a look of pure adoration on his face.

“Yeah.” Jack said. “Can I have copies too?”

“I’ll send them to your email.” Nathan said and reached over and took another french fry from Jack’s plate as he got lost in the picture album. 

“We should go over to the director’s house tonight.” Jack said and gave Nathan back his tablet. “Look for my glove. Maybe toss a baseball around a little since you need to learn to catch me. Maybe try out the pool without clothes this time, to cool off.”

“Sounds like a date.” Nathan said and Jack was just glowing now, radiating with pure joy and love for the life they were living together. He absolutely loved this man and was very excited to see Pitcher Jack in action. 


	79. For Love of the Game

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 79

**For Love of the Game**

* * *

Jack walked out of Cafe Diem with an ice cream cone in his hand as Nathan held the door for him. Vincent had somehow turned his apple pie into an ice cream and it was incredible! The cone was even crust!! This beat the hell out of that apple pie moonshine craze. “This is amazing. Are you sure you don’t want some?”

Nathan looked across the street at the gym, the gym he wasn’t going to be visiting at lunch time anymore. “No. If you really like my abs as much as you say you do, you’re going to have to stop stuffing me full of bad food and then not letting me work off the calories.”

Jack licked his ice cream and grinned as they walked past the disappointed patrons of the Cafe who had sat outside to get a glimpse of Nathan at his lunch workout and instead were watching him walk past with his ‘bad influence’ husband. “Ha! I stuff you full of more than food and it _is_ a workout.”

Nathan rolled his eyes as Jack, once again, said that way too loud on purpose. He looked at him and he grinned deviously as he took one long lick of his ice cream and made a show of smacking his lips. “That’s cardio and fun, but doesn’t help me keep this body you are so fond of.”

“You’re fond of it. I appreciate it. I’ll still love you when you don’t have it.” 

“You’re implying I’m going to abandon my fitness routine because of your sexual appetite?”

“Well I'm not implying you're going to be a ghost, because you don't believe in those. Taste the ice cream.” Jack said and got in front of him as they came up on the statue of Archimedes. He lifted the cone up to Nathan’s lips and smiled. “Just a lick.”

Nathan pushed the cone aside and bent down and kissed Jack on the lips, capturing his lower lip in his mouth as he pulled away. He smiled at him as Jack just grinned, he doubted he was going to return to his workout routine anytime soon if Jack had anything to do about it. Then Jack tapped his ice cream cone on his face, smashing ice cram against his lips and into his beard and started laughing. He had no choice but to sigh and lick his lips as Jack giggled with delight. “You’ve already ruined me.”

“What?” Jack asked innocently and opened his mouth and placed the top of the ice cream mound in it to suck off a chunk and round off the top of the cone again. Nathan smirked at him as he attempted to wipe ice cream out of his beard. “Ruined that horrible reputation you built for yourself of being the heartless dictator of GD who was hell bent on global domination and ruining people’s lives who couldn’t perform to his ultra high standards?”

“Among other things.” Nathan said and kept wiping his beard as Jack chuckled and started walking towards the dry cleaners. He walked out from behind the statue to see the Cafe Diem crowd watching him intently, knowing that they paused behind Archimedes for something. Oddly, his reputation didn’t seem to change one bit. If anything, the community was happy to have him back. 

“Oh?”

“You’ve ruined me for anyone else if you ever decide you want to leave me. I'll never be this happy with anyone else.” Nathan said as he caught up with him. Jack snorted in amusement.

“I told you to start planning the wedding, I think I’m playing for keeps.” Jack said and stopped outside the dry cleaner’s door. 

“I’ve formed a baseball league in Eureka for you, I hope you see I am as well.”

“Then let’s skip the tailor’s appointment, slip into the alley and get some new stains on your pants.” Jack said and Nathan opened the door, leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, rubbing his ice cream beard against his nose.

“No. You need to get your uniform if we are going to play ball tomorrow.”

“ _Tomorrow?_ ” Jack asked, surprised, as he wiped the ice cream residue off his nose and Nathan shoved him into the dry cleaner’s shop. “I’m not in shape for a game tomorrow!”

“Then maybe you should join me for a gym session after work.” Nathan said and walked up to the counter and leaned on it as Callie Curie waved at him from the back of the shop. 

“Not that kind of shape. I, mean, my shoulder. ” Jack said and had to lick his ice cream again as it was starting to melt because he was talking too much. “It’s stiff.”

Nathan smiled at Callie as she brought his suit, pants, and coat up from the back just as Jack whined about being stiff, as he lapped at his ice cream to stop it from dribbling down his hand. “Hi. Jack needs to try on his uniform as well. Might need to get some stains out of his shirt too.”

“Shit!” Jack said as a glob of ice cream fell onto his shirt as if on cue. There was definitely some kind of device around here that made things happen at the most convenient time. 

“Well, take it off and I’ll get on it.” Callie said and walked over to the Sheriff as he struggled to lick his ice cream and also scoop it off his chest. He was smearing it everywhere. 

"Hmmm." Nathan said and looked at his husband, as this proved his point that Callie had more on her mind than just cleaning his clothes. 

“Is that Vincent’s new formula?” She asked, perhaps her statement was a bit too suggestive.

“Yes.” Jack said and held out his ice cream cone to Nathan. “A little help?”

Nathan took the ice cream and grudgingly started to lick it to stop it from melting on the floor or his suit as well. Jack, meanwhile, took off his shirt in order to hand it over to be salvaged from his dessert. “Good. You’re halfway to getting stripped down to try out your uniform.”

“This is  _ my _ uniform.” Jack said as he took off the shirt and took off his badge and name tag to transfer to his back up shirt in the office.

“Your  _ baseball  _ uniform.” Nathan said with a sigh. “It needs to be done, today if you want to play tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to play tomorrow.”

“Well, tough. You asked and I delivered. I deliver fast.”

“Well…”Jack said and Callie handed him a hanger with plastic covering a uniform and pointed to a fitting room. “You could have asked.”

“You asked.” Nathan repeated. “I listened. Wasn’t this what you wanted?”

“Well…” Jack stammered. “Yes, but...that was about my job and you not transferring me across the country without asking.”

Nathan looked at his watch. “My lunch is over in ten minutes. Get changed, talk while you dress.”

“Fine!” Jack said and went into the fitting room. “All I’m saying is that, as someone who understands athletic bodies and workouts, you should see that I might need some time to get this body back in shape to pitch a game.”

“This isn’t the All-Star game.” Nathan said and realized he was going to eat this entire ice cream cone himself to save it from melting. Well played, Jack. “It’s Eureka. They’ve never played with a real baseball, it’s always been virtual reality.”

“What do you mean they’ve _never played with a real ball_?”

“It’s virtual baseball here.” Nathan said. “However, I made the league, per your request, and I knew you’d be upset by the virtual game. I could picture you standing there looking at the bat and grumbling about it being an abomination and how it wasn’t real baseball. So I made sure it was a real ball. Think Field of Dreams, but instead of it being an actual playable dream you’re going to get dead ball players coming out of the corn and falling apart when you throw a fastball past them. If they even make it onto the field. Your biggest threat is Taggart who used to be a Cricket star in Australia and Jo who might just shatter the bat with a swing and scare the ball into the stratosphere.”

Jack got into uniform and smiled. “Well, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Why didn’t you just take me here to begin with? Eureka, that is, not the dry cleaners.” Jack asked as he got into his pants. He didn’t care that Callie was probably listening. It’s not like their almost divorce was a secret. “Why didn’t you tell me that there was a nice little place in small town America where you wanted to live and cater to my every need?”

“I did.” Nathan reminded him. “You didn’t listen. Zoe apparently did.”

“Oh..” Jack said as he got his pants on. “So _that’s why_ you talked about Eureka!?”

“In hindsight I probably should have told you I wanted to move back here and it would be a good place to live, and you could have apple pie ice cream.”

“Yeah! What kind of genius are you! That would have spared me the expense of getting a lawyer and filing for divorce.” Jack said and pulled back the curtain to show how well his uniform didn’t fit. “However if you really think I’m this big, I might be talking to my lawyer again.”

Nathan pointed to Callie who had a tablet in her hands. “One size fits all.”

Callie smiled and pressed a few buttons to shrink the uniform down to the right size. “It’s the future of fashion. The clothes are made of fabric that will change size to fit everyone and also conform to be flattering and change with fashion trends. Experimental, but very exciting.”

“Next question.” Jack said as the uniform shrank to fit him. He turned around. “Why is my number '2'?”

“I’m Stark #1” Nathan smirked and licked the ice cream. “Didn’t you read my vanity plate?”

“On your smashed up car in Henry’s garage?” Jack asked. “Still want a ride home, #1?”

“Still watch me to catch?” Nathan asked. “Still want me squatting behind home plate watching you pitch? Still want to confer on the mound and have me slap your ass with my glove? Still want me to peel off my catcher's mask and be wearing a ball cap backwards? Want...”

“OK. Yes, I very much do want.” Jack said and grinned at him. “Still don’t understand why you didn’t pitch Eureka sooner in our relationship. You would have totally sold me on this place.”

“Doing what?” Nathan snorted, knowing Jack wasn’t at all serious. He would have never given up his Marshall job to move here to be the #2 of Team Stark. “King was director, I would have just been a researcher. Cobb was Sheriff, you would not have handled that well _at all_.”

“Doing _you_.” Jack said and then remembered that Callie was standing there. “Ok, this fits. Yes?”

“Yes, let’s get you back to work before you ruin any more of your reputation.” Nathan said and bit into the ice cream cone. “Or I eat any more of this damned thing.”

“It’s good for you.” Jack said and went back into the fitting room to get into his other pants. 

“No, it’s not.” Nathan said. “I’m serious about the gym. We should go before we head home tonight. Especially if you want to get in some practice.”

“You’re actually looking forward to this.”

“Believe it or not, Jack, I am super excited to see my All Star pitcher husband in action.” Nathan said and kept eating. Fuck it. This ice cream was amazing. “Happy to engage in the physical aspect of the sport you’ve forced me to watch through many months of witness protection.”

“We also watched those police procedurals and you yelled at the science portion as I yelled about the cop stuff.” Jack reminded him. “And you loved talking about baseball statistics, you liar.”

“I’m excited to see you in action. I’m excited to tell you what to do and have you follow my orders because it’s my job to call the pitch.” Nathan repeated as Jack came out in his work clothes and grabbed his badge and nameplate off the counter, as he took his freshly cleaned clothes off the rack. “I’m also going to need to hang this in your closet at work until later. So get your spare shirt, get it on, and take me back to work.”

“I can disagree on your calls.” Jack said and got his ice cream cone back. 

“You will and we can argue about it and compromise.” Nathan said. “However, right now, I do need to get to work if you expect me to get off work at a reasonable time to do all this tonight.”

“Right.” Jack said and opened the door for Nathan she he could carry his clothes out, he smiled at Callie as she waved goodbye. “Thank you!”

“My pleasure.” She said and watched them leave. What a great couple they were.


	80. Not This Time

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 80

**Not This Time**

* * *

“Do I need to leave?” Jo asked as she returned from lunch, walked into the office, and walked in on Stark hanging some clothes in the closet while Carter buttoned up his own shirt.

Jack smiled at her as he put on a clean uniform and Nathan closed the closet door to protect his cleaned clothes. “No, I got ice cream on my shirt and had to leave it at the dry cleaners when we picked up his clothes.”

“Right.” She said and went over to her desk and sat down. 

“That’s it?” Jack said. “Not going to overshare or tell me what _you_ ate for lunch? Just imply I got stains on my shirt from my lunch date?”

She looked at him and smiled. “Maybe later when you get back from dropping him off at GD.”

“Why am I being excluded?” Nathan asked. 

“You really want to know about her sex life?” Jack asked and pointed at his still bruised nipple as he buttoned up his shirt. “Want to start with why you and Callister Raynes have a reputation for nipple amputation?”

“Not really.” Nathan mumbled and turned away and walked towards the door. “I have to get some work done today.”

“Right.” Jack said and rolled his eyes. There was a hint of a blush on his cheeks before he turned away. Callister got Stark Kink 1.0 downloaded into his A.I. brain at some point. God help them when he came back to town. 

“Thanks for covering for me.” Jo said to Carter as he grabbed his keys off his desk. 

“You’ve covered for me plenty.” Jack said. “And you work hard enough to take a little longer lunch break than you normally do.”

“Thanks.”

“Speaking of work.” Jack said and turned to see the doors close on the office as Nathan exited the building rather than be questioned about his aggressive nibbling tendencies. “Nathan cut a deal with Dylan and since it’s your case I wanted to run that by you before he gets any paperwork drawn up to make this case vanish.”

“I’m not surprised. “ Jo shrugged. “It’s how things go here, Carter. Eureka exists solely because of GD and the laws and punishments for breaking them don’t exist to keep GD producing.”

“Dylan’s just a kid.” Jack said.

“I know.” She said. “But he’s a genius kid and he should have known better.”

“Should have, but none of these people have common sense.” Jack said. “It’s like they have a myopic focus on science and get so confused when reality bites them in the ass.”

“So what _do you_ want to do?” Jo asked. “You can press charges but they’ll never go anywhere. Hell, I don’t know what we press charges for at this point. Dylan admitted he made the drug for himself and Hawkthorne didn’t watch the dosage. The case can be made that it was all a Section 5 side experiment and our evidence….well nothing points to murder.”

“Yeah, that case has already been made.” Jack said and sat on her desk. 

“He stole your gun and was going to shoot you.” She reminded him. “Granted the safety was still on, but intent was clear.”

“True.” Jack said and shook his head. “In this line of work that’s not the first time that’s happened to me. I could get him for intent to harm, charge him with assault. He stole _my_ gun though, disarmed _me_ ….”

“Carter. Let it go.” Jo said and he looked at her with the conflicted look of a career cop who swore an oath to uphold the law. “I’m not saying that it was right, but we’re getting into a gray area over a kid that will not see court. We’re getting into the precedent that was set by you,  _ Sheriff  _ Carter, who shot a man last week and had no recollection of the incident because of a mind altering device. You, who still have your job. You, who still have your job _and firearm_. The same firearm that was recently stolen by a kid, high on some experimental drugs, in a high school parking lot.”

“Oh shit.” Jack said and realized the absolute mess he would be in if this was all happening in L.A. None of what happened with Jason Anderson was his fault, he was just the victim of a device used wrong. Once again, he was going to be the hypocrite if he threw Dylan in jail for this, the same jail he got thrown in last week for _actually_ shooting a man.

“Yeah.” She said and pushed him off her desk. “So go take your husband back to work. Let him make that deal. What’s in that kid’s head is pretty valuable if he’s managed to get an internship at GD and cook up some drug that Section 5 guys couldn’t figure out how to use. If this is my case, I’m saying we don’t have enough evidence to charge him with Hawkthorne’s death, even if GD would let us.”

Jack stood up and put his hands in his pockets. “You’re pretty good at this.”

“Yeah, I definitely should have gotten your job instead of you.”

“I agree.” Jack said and she waved him off. “Thanks for saving my life.”

“I guess that’s our thing, huh?”

“Yeah. You save my ass, I save yours.” Jack turned and walked to the door. “Nobody I’d rather have watching my back.”

“Same.” She said and Carter smiled at her and then disappeared through the front door.

Jack walked out of his office and kept smiling as he saw Nathan leaning against the front of his Jeep. “OK. Talked it over with the lead detective and she says to go ahead with your deal with that kid. The Sheriff’s Department does want it made _very clear_ what he’s being saved from and that he better keep his hands off firearms and my daughter if he expects to stay a free man.”

“He’s basically doing the genius level equivalent of writing “I will not do crime” a million times on the chalkboard back at GD right now. Only it’s with his drug formula, and all his research, and in front of his rather critical parents.”

Jack walked up and stood between Nathan’s legs as he smiled at him and looked him in the eye. “My next question is for you.”

“For once, I didn’t have anything to do with this.” Nathan grinned at him. “So keep your handcuffs on your belt.”

“It...actually is about Eureka and what we talked about in the dry cleaners.” He said and bit his lip and had to look away to collect his thoughts. “I wish I could say I would have been the man who would have given up his job to come here with you. I love being able to have lunch with you, kiss behind the statue and be as free and open as we are. Stand here, between your legs, as you lean on my car like a fucking pinup model and have the world keep revolving around us like there is nothing abnormal about that. That the only thing to see here is two people in love.”

“I would have done it if I thought it would have worked.” Nathan said and put his arms around Jack’s waist. “If I thought bringing you here would have answered all those unanswered questions about how you and I exist as ‘happily married’ with all the problems facing us...I would have brought you here on our honeymoon. I would have taken a pay cut and taken a researcher job. However….we arrived here eventually. At the right time  _ for us _ . I wasn’t the guy you needed back then either, I needed you to leave me to get the wake up call that I could lose you. Ally and I, we were separated for a year. Two people, still married, not talking to each other and not even on the same side of the country. In limbo, because it was easy to lie to ourselves thinking time would fix us and we wouldn’t have to admit defeat. Well, I fell into that same way of thinking with you. When I asked about the transfer to D.C. for you...it was about me trying to control things and recreate the situation where we could exist together and were happy. Your reaction was what I needed to realize those were moves I couldn’t make anymore without losing my most precious piece for good. I fell in love with you because of how fucking easily you see through me, how brilliant and explosive you are, how you showed me views of myself and this world I _ never _ saw before. I am who I am now, better, because of that. I’m thankful.”

“You would have been miserable with that researcher job under Warren King.”

“Please, I would have rooted out his shady shit and got him fired and taken his job." Nathan snorted in amusement. "If a pawn crosses the board, it can receive a promotion.”

“Not to king.” Jack said and frowned at the double meaning of that. A new game started and pieces were in place to begin, but had Nathan come in and usurped the previous director there would have been a different culture established. Instead of the new hero, Nathan would have been looked at differently. He would not have been looked at as King of the board, but as someone who tore down the previous occupant of his office. Yeah, that would have been bad. 

“Without Walter’s experiment gone awry, Cobb would still be in your seat as well.”

“Speaking of seats of power, you need to get back to yours.” Jack said and leaned forward and gave him a long, slow, loving kiss. “I’m happy. I need you to stop working on alternative timelines for everything.”

“Why? You don’t play through multiple scenarios in your head in case you fuck up so badly you need to go back in time and create a new timeline?” Nathan asked, seriously.

Jack looked at him and his mouth hung open for a bit as he tried to come up with a response to that. He wasn’t sure if he should be worried, appalled or impressed. “Uh, no?”

“Good. It would complicate things if you did.” Nathan grinned and kissed him as he stood up and then went over to the passenger seat to get in the Jeep. “Time for me to get back to work.”

Jack frowned. His husband was very very capable of doing that. Oh, they were going to have some weird ass wedding vows this time around.


	81. Rushing the Mound

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 81

**Rushing the Mound**   
  


* * *

“I can’t believe you convinced me to skip working out at the gym so I could do it in the garage while I watched you unpack your shit.” Nathan said as he finally finished setting up a piece of gym equipment from one of the commercial products labs in the one corner that wasn't overtaken with Jack's stuff.. 

“Are you really skipping your workout? Or just skipping showing off for the outdoor, after work, dinner crowd at Cafe Diem?” Jack asked as he sat cross legged on the concrete floor going through several boxes that should have had his baseball stuff in it, but didn’t. 

“Some people like to refer to it as ‘inspiration’ or ‘goals’.”

“Some people, like me, like to refer to it as ‘mine’.”

Nathan snorted and laid down on the bench. “You say that, but we both know you like when I show off what you, and only you, have access to. Especially since you’ve gotten pretty vocal about what you do when you have access to me.”

“You’re also the one who likes to mention how much work has to do and how stressed he is and now he’s considering restarting the universe if he gets something wrong.” Jack said and threw some pictures back in a box. “So, we’re compromising. You’re here, being inspirational, helping me locate something I need to play baseball tomorrow. Then we can get together on strategy and signals.”

“Maybe we should stretch your shoulder out?”

“With what? A hand job while you bench press your super heavy stick?”

“It’s a weight bar with a magnetic pull that eliminates the need for weights.” Nathan said. “I would appreciate you not distracting me while I do this as it's a significant amount of weight.”

“You’re already distracted.” Jack smiled and grabbed another box. 

“I am. You're very distracting.” 

“Good.” Jack said and opened another box and found his varsity jacket. “Hey, I might be getting close.”

“Doubt it.” Nathan chirped. “I’ve seen your organizational skills.”

“I didn’t pack this, Abby did. Packed my shit up to put it in the garage long before I moved out.” Jack said and put his jacket down on his lap and saw his yearbook and opened it up. On the inside cover and first few pages were messages from teammates and classmates. Teachers he liked. His sister wrote some gibberish that was clearly influenced by whatever the hell she was smoking at the time. People he hadn’t thought about in years and inside jokes he didn’t remember. Memories that all took a back seat to Angela Fairfield that year. It was weird how you didn’t think about someone for a while and then the memories came flooding back. Usually it was around the time of the accident, but Eureka was really making him reflect on a lot these past few weeks. To move forward, he had to quit looking back. So he slapped the book closed and threw it back into the box and moved on to the next one.

“Don’t forget the pictures.” Nathan reminded him. “I showed you mine, time to show me yours.”

“Henry showed me yours.” Jack reminded him and pulled another box over. “And it’s not like I was on any baseball cards or anything. Probably just a team picture or something out of the newspaper.”

“I want to seeeeee.” Nathan said as he had to admit to himself he did like having Jack around for even the most mundane task. 

Jack laughed and almost on cue the next box held the treasure trove of relics from his baseball career. He shook his head, there had to be a device. No other explanation as to how things always happened at the most convenient time “Ok, I found one.”

“Show meeeeee.” Nathan whined and Jack turned the photo around to show him from a distance of fifteen feet. He grunted and kept working the weight bar. “Don’t make me come over there.”

Jack rolled his eyes, but got up and walked over to him and knelt on the bench and put the picture in his face as he laid on his back and put the bar in it's holder. “Better?”

“Ass.” Nathan said and grabbed the photo and held it at a reasonable distance and grinned. “ _ Nice ass. _ ”

“Well, believe it or not, that’s kinda a thing scouts look for.”

“ _ What _ ?”

“It was high school, I was getting scouted by schools and MLB teams. I was a lanky kid. Scouts have this thing where they try to figure out what you’re going to grow into, not just what you are doing in front of them. They’re recruiting you for a job that’s almost four years down the line. I had the height. I had the variety and velocity on my pitches. I had the muscle in the rear that got stamped 'promising'.”

“ Are you  _ kidding me _ ?” Nathan asked. Yeah, he was the one who proudly displayed himself in the Centerfold in the calendar, but that was voluntary. That was ego. This...was kinda fucked up.

“You can look it up.” Jack said and took his picture back to return to his search for his glove. “There is a lot that goes into scouting ball players. Tons of write ups out there, I read a bunch when I was trying to be the image of what they were looking for. Clean shaven, Captain America's Pastime with a nice ass." 

“Are you just trying to get me to watch baseball with you so I can check out guy’s butts and rate them like a racehorse?” Nathan asked. "Because I won't. I'm kinda appalled by this."

“I mean, is it really that different than what you do as a scientist? You look at mechanics, confirmation flaws, the ability to perform. Yeah I guess we were looked at like racehorses, but athletes are athletes.” Jack shrugged. “It’s about pushing a body to do more. To throw 90 mph pitch your arm has to be able to go that fast without falling apart. That’s all tied into your whole body. Thought you'd appreciate that.” 

“Yes, I do. I also kind of have an issue with some guy checking out my husband’s 16 year old ass when deciding if he was going to hire him for a job or not.” Nathan said and frowned at the thought of some one appraising Jack like that.

“This from the guy who wants to show off his 8 pack and incredible legs at the gym.” Jack snorted.

“It’s different when I’m choosing to do it and kinda fucked up when you’re subjected to it.”

“Please don’t go back in time to protect my ass from appraising eyes.” Jack said and looked over at him and saw he had stopped working with his weight bar. 

“I might.” Nathan threatened and Jack sat down and pulled another box over. “Would you have dated me back then?”

“For the record, we never dated.” Jack reminded him. “We went from ‘casual fuck’ to ‘fuck I think I love you’  _ real fast _ .”

“Well, we were talking about being different people back then, earlier today.” Nathan said. "I'm just revisiting a topic of discussion we already had with new evidence."

“Back then, being  _ two weeks ago, _ not twenty.” Jack laughed. "And what evidence? My baseball picture?"

“Would you have?” Nathan asked curiously.

“If you’re asking if I ‘swung both ways’ back then the answer is that I didn’t learn the sunflower seed trick to impress girls. I also appreciate your body a lot more because of what I learned about bio-mechanics to catch a recruiter's eye.” Jack smiled. “However, I was so wrapped up in baseball that it was my life. I was expecting it to be my career. I put myself under a lot of pressure to perform. I was that guy in the weight room. I watch the major league guys to study their techniques. I studied everything I could get my hands on about baseball. I only watched baseball movies. I read books about baseball. I gave myself a little time here and there to be social, but not much. I knew I had one chance and I could blow it if I had a bad game while a scout was in the stands.”

“I would like to see the you back then. I love the focused and determined Jack Carter, I'd like to see the one who had passion for a sport instead of justice.” Nathan admitted. He couldn’t help but wonder if Jack didn’t want to hit the gym with him because of old memories of being that guy who set aside time for weight training. Surely this MPH case had stirred up old feelings, between the high school senior almost losing the life he worked for to the need to go faster and push the body beyond it's limits. The whole case circled around a car accident, and he couldn’t fault him for recalling what it was like to see his life circling down the drain. 

“I wasn’t me. You weren’t you. So, I don’t know what you are asking? Is there an alternative timeline where you get to be my math tutor and argue with me about how it’s going to be useful in my life outside of calculating baseball statistics?” Jack asked and looked up at him. Nathan’s mind...worked so differently. He was a scientist through and through and he knew he was genuinely considering how one incident had changed his future and lead him to be right here and now. If his accident never happened, he might have married Angela and Zoe wouldn’t exist. He might have gone on to play in the Majors and never met Nathan. Hell, if he didn’t crash in Eureka a few weeks ago, he might have walked away from Nathan. 'What if' was a game he didn't really like to play, but for Nathan the possibilities intrigued him.

“I don’t know. I didn’t really have a typical high school experience. I guess, maybe I’m trying to figure out what I missed? I was so busy trying to move up that I never existed in the moment because it was so boring and….not for me.” Nathan resumed lifting weights as he could see he had changed Jack’s mood with his line of questions.

“I missed a lot too, because I was fixated on what I thought was my future and it was rough when it was gone. I missed a lot of my childhood and formative years because I wanted to be a pitcher and nothing else. But I loved it at the time and it helped teach me how to be who I am now. It’s a team sport, but the pitcher really does control the game for the defense. The rest of the players are support and only there in case a ball gets hit. Certainly taught me to work solo, bear the weight of the game on my shoulders and focus on what it took to strike a guy out.” Jack looked at his old varsity jacket and wondered if Zoe would want to wear it. He used to wear this thing like it was a crown, it was a symbol of so much and now it was just some old clothes in a box. "I'll take you to my reunion if you want to experience high school."

"I'd like that." 

"I wouldn't mind seeing what happened to people." Jack said. "Professionally it did always tickle curiosity to see where things went astray from the path people thought their lives would take."

“It’s interesting, the paths we take that define us.” Nathan said thoughtfully. 

“Stop trying to create new timelines!” Jack snapped, playfully, and finally got to the bottom of the box where his baseball gear was. “And get ready to  _ play ball _ !!”

“Oh good.” Nathan said as Jack jumped up off the floor with his ball and glove. “I don’t have to 3D print you a glove.”

“You were going to?”

“That’s how I made mine?” Nathan said and pointed to the machine on the workbench and his glove. "Do you read anything? It is literally labelled '3D printer'."

“I love how invested you are in this!” Jack said and punched his fist into his glove.

“I am the director of GD, I can basically take whatever I want home with me.” Nathan said and added. "And form whatever sports league I want, apparently."

“Still, you didn’t have to make a whole baseball league for me _or play_. It means a lot that you are.”

“I think it will be more fun to play than sit on the sidelines."

"To play you have to  _ get off the bench _ ." Jack said and went over to convince him to follow him to the yard by slapping his legs with his glove.

"Fine.". Nathan huffed and Jack ran out of the garage and into the back yard like a happy kid on Christmas. He rolled off the bench and got his glove and went out to see Jack stretching his shoulder. Oh God he hoped Jack didn't blow out his shoulder doing this. He put his glove on and flexed it. Oh God, he hoped he didn't suck at this and end up catching the ball with his face or crotch. "So…"

"Not here!" Jack said and sprinted over to the area by the pool. "People might see us and we want to keep my arsenal and our strategy secret!"

Nathan frowned and looked around. The director’s house was surrounded by large trees and landscaping "Who?"

"The people who spy on you because you're hot!" Jack said and added loudly. "Or Taggart and Jo who have tactical gear and like hanging out together!"

"You think all of Eureka is hiding in the bushes or using drones to watch me squat in the grass?" Nathan asked. "While Taggart and Jo use advanced optics to determine that the guy who was almost a career baseball player knows how to throw a ball? Does paranoia come with the Sports Illustrated subscription or is that an optional purchase?"

"There are drones?" Jack asked and looked up at the sky. As if the hundreds of GD satellites weren't enough, there were drones? Maybe he needed to reconsider skippy dipping with Nathan and whatever watery sex thing happened because of it.

“Yes.” Nathan watched as Jack pulled a ball out of a bucket and grinned, like it was an old familiar friend. He tossed it in one hand and then started to toss it in the glove. This was more than a lost career for him, it was a feeling of comfort and peace. It was connection to the past, but not just his past. He loved the game. Chess was a fucking casual hobby and baseball was the _real_ test of skill. What a man he married. “Now, about _your shoulder._ ”

“Relax! I have been working on it all day and I’m not going to be throwing anything hard.” Jack said and overhand tossed the ball to Nathan who just, ever so naturally, caught it with his bare hand. “Try using the glove because I will throw way harder tomorrow.”

“Sure.” Nathan threw it back at him and he seemed delighted to be playing catch. He looked over as Lo Jack appeared from the bushes to join the fun. He frowned as Jack went over to pet him. They...were going to end up with that dog in the house eventually. “Where do you want to work on your _super secret_ slow pitches?”

“Uh….by the pool. I think that’s the only place we can get close to a regulation distance of 60 ft.” Jack said and sprinted off to where he wanted his pitcher’s mound.

Nathan walked over to await instruction and also watch as Jack thoughtful picked the place he wanted to use as his pitcher's mound and then decided to dump flower pots out in order to make ‘the mound’. Nathan bit his lip as the compost in those pots had been part of a five year experiment and now were compromised. _No_. He wasn’t going to say anything, he was just going to let him have his time. 

“Go over there.” Jack pointed. “Not quite to the patio bricks. Maybe….two foot away?”

He did as instructed and stood and waited for Jack to stomp the ‘Black Gold Compost’ into a solid mound. Stomping out the air in the soil, destroying the careful cultivated ecosystem that had thrived for  _ five long years.  _ He put on a fake smile and squatted down to figure out how to best handle this role of catcher and internally screaming scientist.

“Yes! Perfect” Jack said and threw a simple first pitch to get a feel for everything. Nathan caught it with his glove and tossed it back. “Ok, you’re a natural. No surprise there.”

Nathan smirked. “Maybe you should give me the next one a little faster and harder.”

“Ok, so now you’re going to be the suggestive one?” Jack asked.

“Seems appropriate since you’re the one always being inappropriate at  _ my work _ and I get the feeling nothing is off limits for discussion at the Sheriff’s Department.” Nathan shrugged. "It's about time I find a place you think is too sacred for dick jokes."

“This is true.” Jack said. “I can take it though, it's not like I haven't heard it before. We should work on signs too. You need to see all my pitches so you know what to call.” 

Nathan put his hand between his leg and gave him the middle finger. He smiled suggestively.

Jack put his hand on his hip and frowned. “ _Later._ ”

“Alright, let me see your…” Nathan said and there was a whoosh of something that blew past him and for a second he thought Jack had one hell of a fastball. However, Lo Jack started barking at someone behind him and he turned to see that the brush of air had come from none other than Dylan Hartwell. “ _How the hell_ …”

“Security can’t stop catch someone moving 500 mph.” Dylan said and his whole body started shaking. “You also….have no right to take my research.”

“I do.” Nathan said and narrowed his eyes at him. This kid had some balls. “I also have every right to take away your internship for continued drug use and standing in my back yard _right now_.”

“Dylan…” Jack said and the kid immediately reacted badly to his intrusion.

“Back off!” Dylan snapped. “This isn’t about you! _You_ ruined everything.”

“No.. _.you’re _ ruining everything.” Jack countered and looked at the distance between Dylan and Nathan and didn’t like it at all. The kid could pick up a chair or something and hit him with it going super-speed and kill Nathan instantly. He was clearly not stable right now and feeling slighted. “Do you understand how hard it was for me to not charge you with anything!? The drugs? The breaking and entering? The stealing of evidence? Taking my gun! Do you understand that we chose to give you a second chance and now you’re blowing it?”

“Yeah, _I'm not stupid_! I understand a hell of a lot more than you, more than most of those people working on _my project_ in Section 5!” Dylan said and ran a shaking hand through his hair. “I already got this lecture from my parents! All day long. How lucky I am! They're lucky! I'm turning over _my_ research to them so they could claim it as their own. Not once did they tell me I did a good job they just criticized my every move and reminded me that I was stuck here forever because of a mistake that someone else made! It wasn’t my fault Hawthorne overdosed!”

“Well, good news…” Jack said and rolled the ball around in his hand, feeling the stitching, feeling for the perfect placement to throw the perfect pitch. “You don’t have to go to work with them tomorrow because you’re going to jail.”

“Great!” Dylan screamed. “Then maybe I can get recruited by a company who sees my worth! I’ll work towards a better formula without these side effects! I’ll be more than just my parent’s fuck up son!”

“There isn’t a company in this country that will touch your product knowing where you came from.” Nathan told him. “They know stealing from Global Dynamics will bring the full weight of the government down on them. They won’t chance it. Losing permits, losing contracts, losing a lot of money over one drug formula. You don’t have options, Dylan.”

“Then I’ll cook it in prison and sell it direct to the people who don’t care about the law!” Dylan screamed.

“Dylan.” Jack said trying to keep his attention on him and not Nathan. Nathan, who was _not_ helping. “Listen to me. You’re feeling trapped. You’re feeling like your parents are stealing your work. Your feelings are valid.”

“Shut up! You sound like Beverly!”

“That’s because you need help.” Jack said. “So, why don’t you sit down and we can talk about this?”

“I’m done talking! I’m done with Eureka!” Dylan screamed.

“Good. I’m done with you.” Nathan said and stood up. “I don’t need researchers who can’t handle direction or pressure or simple requirements to obey orders to seek help with your therapist.”

Jack couldn’t wait any longer, Nathan was in full GD Director mode and  _ goddammit _ he needed to read people better. Dylan was ready to blow. So he wound up for the pitch and threw a fastball right down the center and nailed Dylan in the shoulder, sending the kid staggering backwards as the baseball hit him going at least 80 mph. The boy clutched his shoulder, screamed, and took a step back towards the pool, just not close enough to fall in. Then Lo-Jack jumped at Dylan, bounced off his chest, and pushed him the rest of the way into the pool. Jack waited and sighed in relief as the safety bubble device he was hoping to trigger floated to the surface with a blur of pissed of kid inside. 

“So, you were right.” Nathan said as he watched the bubble start to float into the air from the pool. He bent down to scratch Lo-Jack behind the ears. “And you’re a good Boy! You did a good job! Steak for you tonight!”

Jack walked over and shook his head. “I really wanted to be wrong about him.”

Nathan pulled Jack over to him and kissed his forehead. “Brilliant strategy, using the pool safety device to contain him so he couldn’t speed away.”

“I use what I have in my arsenal.” Jack said with a shrug. “I really wish you would stop falling into Director mode when dealing with people who are powder kegs.”

“Why? I have you.”

“And now you have a kid who knows how to cook some horrible drug that we’re going to have to kick out of Eureka and throw out into the real world where he can do a lot of harm.” Jack said and leaned into Nathan as Dylan’s bubble floated all over the place as he attempted to free himself from it by going into hyperspeed mode and bouncing against the sides. “Unless Eureka Correctional Facility is a thing I haven’t heard of yet?”

“No, but Jason Anderson’s memory wiper is a thing you  _ have _ heard of.”

“Noooooo.” Jack said and looked up at him. “You can’t wipe his memory of this thing he created!”

“It’s either that or he gets turned over to the D.O.D. and their incarceration options are way worse than a little lost time.” Nathan said and hated the look Jack was giving him. “I’ll call Security and have them come get him, we’ll talk about options but I don’t see many.”

Jack looked up at Dylan as he tried to float over to the patio to pop his bubble on the house somewhere. He grabbed the giant net off the fence, which looked like it was made specifically for catching bubble people or maybe baby whales, and went to snag Dylan before he could make a break for it. It was either lose a little time or lose the rest of his life doing time. It seemed a no-brainer, but...it was still horribly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. :) I might have had an issue with hitting Dylan with a fastball if he was rushing the mound at 500 mph and figuring out how to not kill him, but that was some good TV. So...had to work it in somewhere. :)


	82. Sliding into Home

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 82

**Sliding into Home**

* * *

  
  


_ “What do you mean, you didn't have dinner?” _

Jack rubbed his eyes, it had been a long day and he forgot to call home and tell S.A.R.A.H. their change in plans. “We had an incident at the director’s house.”

Zoe looked up from her homework and over at him as he and Nathan walked through the living room and to the kitchen. “You have _ incidents _ all over town.”

“Not that kind.” Jack said and playfully smacked her with his varsity jacket as he came into the kitchen. “Your ex-boyfriend zipped past security and yelled at us about giving him a second chance and how bad he wanted to get out of Eureka. So guess who got arrested?”

“ _ No _ .” Zoe said as her Dad went for a beer and Nathan nodded and dropped his work tablet and  _ catcher’s mitt  _ on the kitchen island before going to get a drink. Nathan was...playing catch with her Dad? Oh, that was sweet! It also confirmed that the ball game on schedule at Quantum Field tomorrow was real. Vincent was going to be thrilled! Between the hot dogs and uniforms, he was going to have a great ‘Hump Day’ theme going. 

“Yup.” Jack said and sighed as he swallowed the first delicious gulp of cold beer. “Oh Hey, brought you something.”

“As a reward for not getting arrested?” She asked.

“Yeah, you really changed your ways.” Jack said and put his jacket on the counter next to her. “My old varsity jacket, you probably think it’s lame but…”

“Oh my god!” She said and grabbed it. “You’re giving this to me?”

“Yeah?”

“Dad, this is so cool.” She said and held it up. “How skinny were you?”

“I was your age.” Jack reminded her. “Let’s not start down that road or else I will definitely never get anything but salad in the house again.”

" _The house is making you dinner so you can keep up with all your incidents._ " S.A.R.A.H. announced and decided on waffles for dinner.

"Thanks, S.A.R.A.H." Jack said, genuinely thankful she was going to make them something to eat.

“Thanks, Dad.” Zoe put the jacket on. It was big, but that was fine. “This is really cool.”

Jack smiled as she checked out the fit and the pockets and then went back to doing her homework with the jacket still on. This was an improvement from a thong for sure! He noticed a stack of papers on the counter and said, “Is that from school? For me?”

“Yeah.” She said and shook her head. “Not sure what you did to piss off Administration, but they act like they’re going to suspend _you_ if you don’t get that paperwork filled out and filed.”

“Speaking of…” Nathan said and came over to Jack with his Scotch and Jack put his hand over his mouth.

“Do  _ not _ say insurance.” Jack hissed.

Nathan took his hand in his and pulled it from his mouth, kissed it and said, “You pissed off my ex-wife so expect her to come after you about all that paperwork you need to do for the D.O.D. Including that physical.”

“Also.” Zoe said and tapped her pen on the counter. “You should buy advance tickets for the play if you want good seats. Putnam requires payment in full for the video prior to the event so he can have the DVD ready for distribution at the end of the weekend without questioning the integrity of promises to pay.”

“Ok.” Jack said. Putnam was really going to be something when he was older. “Is the paperwork for _that_ in the pile?”

“Putnam, doesn’t do _paper_ work.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to date him because he really sounds like a reasonable guy?” Jack asked and she pulled over Nathan’s tablet and opened it. He looked over at his husband to see if he was concerned by her hacking his work computer at all. Nope. Not a flicker of concern, just amusement that he thought something was wrong.

“You can set multiple users.” Nathan said with a fake gasp. “It’s cutting edge technology!”

“But can I play Microsoft Chess on it?” Jack asked and Nathan quirked an eyebrow and Jack looked down at the tablet at it slid across the counter. “Oh, he has his own website. You should hire this kid. No...maybe not. He'd put Fargo out of a job and we don't need him pushing buttons to cope with the loss of his assistant role.”

“Well, I have a vacancy in the internship program.” Nathan sipped his Scotch, thoughtfully. “I’d prefer to have them gladiator battle over it, but that ends up with too many damaged robots.”

“Can’t wait to find out if that’s a real thing or if you’re fucking with me.” Jack mumbled as he scrolled through Putnam’s website and reached the shop with video options. “Holy shit! He wants  _ how much _ for a DVD?!” 

“You’re getting a Putnam Production.” Zoe said. “And can you _really_ put a price on preserving the memories of your daughter as the lead in 'A Midsummer Night’s Invasion'?”

“At this price, you better choose now if you want me to pay for your wedding or this DVD.” Jack said and she laughed. _Laughed!_

“Like Nathan will let you have anything to do with my wedding.” She chuckled.

Nathan grinned and sipped his Scotch, Jack just gave up that line of protest without another peep. He took the tablet and signed out, signed back in under his own login and ordered two DVDs. Then he went to the school website and ordered the tickets they needed for themselves, Abby and Ally and Kevin. “Done. Next topic. Learner’s permit.”

“I need my birth certificate and a parent to go with me to the DMV.” She said and knew this was being brought up because Nathan knew her Dad had to be put on the spot for it.

“Remember, she’s a good kid. You didn’t have to shoot her in the ass with animal tranquilizers, hit her with a fastball or arrest her today.” Nathan took a long sip of his Scotch as Jack looked at him and narrowed his eyes in annoyance. He knew what was coming. “Oh, and her driving instructor has been cleared of all wrong doing in his accident.”

“How’s the car?” Zoe asked.

“Totaled.” Nathan shrugged. “Henry sent me a scan of the frame and it’s bent. He can repair it but I’ll take the check and just get a new car.”

“So...Henry  _ can _ repair it?” Zoe asked.

“I don’t like where this is going.” Jack moaned.

“I can buy it back on salvage title and he can make something of it, but you _will not_ be driving around in a totaled car.” Nathan said and Jack muttered under his breath ‘Thank God’. 

_ “What about me?”  _

They all looked up at the ceiling as S.A.R.A.H. asked for a car? Jack was the first one to speak. “Uh...you need a trashed BMW? Like...to spruce up the yard?”

_“If Henry is redesigning it perhaps you can get some AI integration? I would love to get out of the house and see Eureka!_ ”

“Or park at the director’s house when we go there, so you can run over Zoe’s boyfriend, The Flash.” Jack said.

“Ex.” Zoe reminded him.

“We could.” Nathan said thoughtfully. “S.A.R.A.H. going mobile would present some interesting opportunities to study Artificial Intelligence and she could pick up Zoe from school instead of me sending a car for her when we end up in a hostage situation again. Jo, obviously, has her free time accounted for.”

“You want to give our house _a car_?” Jack asked.

“Before me?” Zoe asked. 

“I’ll talk to Henry.” Nathan said and pulled up the designs for his car to see what could be done to make it an experimental self driving car. 

“Oh!” Jack said as he remembered something from earlier. “Henry invited us to come over for dinner since Kim missed the barbecue. He’s going to tell me all about Fudgey!”

“Well, that should be entertaining.” Nathan smiled and took his drink and tablet to the couch. “Why don't you fill out your school paperwork and I’ll figure out this car thing and then we go to bed? You have a big game tomorrow and I still only know how to call one pitch.”

Jack looked over at the pile of papers. “S.A.R.A.H., turn on the fireplace.”

“Dad!” Zoe reprimanded him. “The parent teacher conference is important. Especially since they’re all super scared of Nathan and I would like to have that advantage over my teachers.”

“What _did you do?_ ” Jack asked him.

“Guess you’ll have to go to the meeting to find out.” Nathan replied and gave him a smug smile. 

Jack sighed, sat down and pulled over the stack of papers to start going through them. The rest of the night was going to just end up being homework apparently. He couldn't complain, especially since last night didn’t go that well and he wasn’t upset that his family could have this opportunity to be together. This..was nice. It was quiet, it smelled of waffles and there were no boys in his daughter's room. It was a good day.


	83. Rounding the Bases

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 83

**Rounding the Bases**

* * *

Jack was thankful that his quiet evening carried over to a quiet morning. He dropped Zoe off at school, and she wore his Varsity jacket and got a lot of compliments. It made him oddly proud and he tried to ignore that it was kinda long and covered her 'dress' so it looked like she was not wearing anything under it, but it was hard. It helped that he walked into school wearing something that made him proud, his wedding ring, as Nathan walked beside him and they got _many_ looks from people that said that nobody believed their favorite genius was actually married to the Sheriff. They hadn't been seen together much here, Nathan dropped off Zoe or they picked her up after rehearsal, so there wasn't the image to really drive it home that 'Yes, Nathan 'Huge Everything' Stark was married to Jack 'I don't respect your stupid exceptions to the rules, Eureka, and science isn't an answer to my questions' Carter. It made him happy because it was clear that Nathan was really proud of him too. He turned in his stack of paperwork to the secretary while Nathan talked to the principal about opening up Dylan's internship spot to another student and then, in true Nathan Stark style, told him the other internships approved by Dr. King would be under review as well. School successfully set abuzz by their surprise visit, they left to get coffee. After a quick stop at Cafe Diem with Nathan, Jack drove him to work and dropped him off at GD and Nathan surprised him with a kiss goodbye that everyone walking into work saw. It was also made him feel like he was the one on display this morning and he kinda liked it, it was a good start to his day. He went to his office to officially start his work day and sit down and think about Dylan’s case. Nathan was fully intending to present the “only option” of memory wiping to Dylan and his family this morning. Then he’d get with Henry about the device and *poof* the problem would all go away.

“You’re awfully quiet this morning.” Jo observed as she drank her morning coffee.

“Nathan wants to use Anderson’s memory wiper on Dylan to take away his drug cooking formula before releasing him back into the wild of normal America.” Jack said and slapped his pencil down on the desk and leaned back in his chair. "I'm not sure how I feel about it."

“Seems like a good solution.” Jo had to admit and saw Jack was clearly sitting on the fence on this. “Carter! That’s a pretty light sentence for everything that he did!”

“Yeah, but it feels like...I don’t know.” Jack flung his pencil across the room. “I just know how _I_ felt when I was memory wiped. Like I was going nuts. Losing a piece of myself even thought it was just a few minutes. I know that feeling of doubting it all and losing the work I had done against Jason all vanish. Kim would probably agree with me because she got memory wiped and her ideas and work stolen. I think that kid gets unhinged when he is called stupid and now we’re taking the work away that made him smart.”

“So you want to leave the information to the drug in his head?” She asked incredulously. 

“No.” Jack stood up and started walking around. “Nathan says Dylan can’t figure it out if he doesn’t have the original MPH to work with. He says it took years for geniuses like Kim Anderson and Henry Deacon to catch on to Jason Anderson's game and they needed my help to do that. So...I don't know. I know they want to simply remove the formula from his head, redact all the information about it and GD teams are clearing out the Hartwell house as we speak."

“So the whole family is getting canned?”

“I don’t know.” Jack said and sat on his desk. “Well, I guess I wasn’t asked to escort anyone out of town so they must be staying.”

“Carter...let it go.” She said and got up and walked over to refill her coffee cup and grabbed his off his desk as she passed. “You did your best with that kid and your gut told you not to give him a second chance but you did anyway. He blew it, not you. This is one of those times I think this is a GD matter more than it’s our problem. Yeah, he’s got a long list of illegal shit he did, but the drug thing trumps all that. Global is a government facility, their work is classified, and they employ D.O.D. tactics and protocols to handle stuff like this. You and I have worked for the government, we’ve both seen how they take care of things. So, _let it go_.”

Jack was surprised when she put a coffee cup in his hand. She never had refilled his coffee before. This meant they were partners now.

“Dylan Hartwell has been in Eureka his entire life. He has had _nothing_ but the best. He had access to education and technology that even your husband wishes he had when he was a kid. He was set up to succeed and is smart enough to know what he’s doing. So, he made his choice and hopefully he chooses to give up a few formulas and memories because the other options are going to really suck. He had everything stacked in his favor and he chose to topple that stack.”

“Right.” Jack said and drank his coffee. At this point he just had to let Nathan do his job. Time to change the topic. It was going to be a good day, dammit! “So, ready for the game tonight?”

“Are you?” Jo asked and looked at the glove sitting on his desk. “Your practice was interrupted last night, not mine.”

“Nathan’s good at everything.” Jack said. “He’ll figure it out.”

“Your catcher just has to 'wing it'?” Jo said and Jack rolled his eyes.

“No, I’m going to wing whoever crowds the plate.” Jack said and smiled and sipped his coffee. “So do we have anything other than paperwork to get into today? I’d really like a slow day to just sit here and Sheriff.”

“Like Sheriff Cobb?” She asked. "Sit at your desk and Sheriff?"

“Ouch.” Jack said but then nodded. “But yes. I haven’t been in this office other than to pass through or use it to hold my stuff, or sit in jail. I'd like to feel like I work here.”

“Nothing on the agenda and nobody has called in anything.” She said and walked back to her desk. “I’m going to leave it at that so I don’t jinx it.”

“Good. Let's start with redecorating.” Jack said and pulled his ‘bottom half’ of Nathan’s centerfold out of his pile of paperwork and showed it to her. “I’m framing this and putting it somewhere.”

“Actually..” Allison interrupted as she walked into the Sheriff’s Office and saw her ex-husband’s radioactive lower half being waved around. “That’s now D.O.D. property along with all the other evidence from the Hartwell case.”

“No!” Jack said and held his half of a calendar centerfold to his chest. “No! I confiscated this from Dylan's locker as...propaganda. Not evidence! Maybe evidence of good taste, but certainly not of being a drug dealer!"

“You confiscated it from Dylan’s locker, per the school staff reports, during a search for drugs.” Allison walked in the room and held out her hand for it. “Now it’s government property.”

“How?” Jack clutched it harder like it was a purse and he was some old lady being held at gunpoint by a mugger.

“Photos are pixels. Pixels can hide information.” Allison explained. “That poster may have been a counterfeit and part of Dylan’s coded research.”

“Bullshit!”

“It’s...happened before.” Jo admitted. “The counterfeit calendars….were a big deal. I'm surprised Cobb didn't retire over _that_ case.”

Jack’s mouth hung open as he looked from one woman to the other. This town...was never going to be normal. “No!”

“So you’re telling me you’re going to keep evidence seized during a locker search for personal reasons, Sheriff?” Allison asked.

Jack narrowed his eyes at her. Oh, this was way too curt and professional for it to be about a calendar. This was about him calling her out on Kevin’s drug trial nonsense. He surrendered his half of the centerfold, arm stretched out and Nathan’s perfect legs and Radioactive censor sign almost stuck into her face. “Fine. If that’s how you’re going to play it.”

“Well, I’m not playing first base.” She mumbled and took the poster and put it in an envelope. Jo was collecting their evidence for the Hartwell case and putting it in a box, knowing why she was really here: to take possession of everything related to Dylan Hartwell. So, to keep Carter busy, she pulled another form out of the envelope in her hand and handed it to Carter in exchange for the photo of Nathan’s toned legs.

“What’s this?” Jack asked. “Now I have to fill out ‘chain of custody’ paperwork too on my husband’s naked poster?”

“No, that’s for your physical.” She said. “Your _ overdue _ ,  _ required _ D.O.D. physical. The one you need to keep your job?”

“Listen, if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to put that off another week. At least until my nipple grows back. I don’t want it to be on file with the government that Nathan is a nipple nipper.” Jack said, semi-seriously. Last thing he wanted was photos of his tender tits being in his permanent file. 

Allison rolled her eyes. “Too late for that.”

“Really? Any tips...” Jack asked and his eyes darted down to her cleavage and then back to her face. He shook his head as Jo snorted in amusement. “Wrong word. Any...recommendations on how to patch it up so I can pitch nine innings tonight? Since you're a doctor and you have experience with his...nibbles?”

“Nine.” Jo cooed. “You think you can handle nine innings like you do nine  _ inches _ ? I hear your shoulder is pretty tight and needs stretched a lot...”

“Easy girl.” Jack said as she bubbled with laughter and Allison raised her eyes at the inappropriate turn this took immediately. With her already annoyed at him, he didn’t need a mandatory HR intervention in addition to a mandatory physical. “My nipple is going to get rubbed raw with the level of twisting I have to do to pitch. So any special medicine or GD medical magic I can put on it?”

“Strip.” Allison said. “I’ll do the physical and give you a recommendation on how to treat your nipples so they can be rubbed without pain.”

Jo burst into laughter and Jack rolled his eyes. “I’m not looking for an exam.”

“I’m not going to give you medical advice without seeing my patient first.” Allison replied. “And conveniently you need a full body exam for this as well as the physical.”

“Well….” Jack said and looked around for anything that could get him out of this. Then he looked up at the clock and said. “Oh God! Look at the time! I have to get on the phone with the DMV!”

“Excuse me?” Allison asked as he walked around his desk and sat down, then found a piece of paper and picked up the phone and started dialing.

“Yeah, super important.” Jack said and then added, just as someone picked up on the other end, “I’ll talk to you about my nipple later.”

_ “Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services, how can I direct your call?” _

“Yeah, I need to get a learner’s permit for my daughter and need to speak to someone in depth about that.” Jack said and Allison frowned and turned to Jo, who was coming to hand her the box of evidence. Oh, so maybe this was a distraction so she could get the evidence without him getting all territorial about it? Nah, this was about overstepping and judging her as a parent. "Maybe when we talk about you getting to first base?"

Jo looked over at him as he winced, remembering some poor government employee was on the phone overhearing all this talk about nipples and first base. She shook her head and handed off the box.

_ “OK sir, have you visited our website?” _

“I have and I have questions.” Jack said and the lady on the phone sounded annoyed and not entertained by any of this. He watched Allison leave with the box as he was put on hold. Jo smiled at him and leaned on his desk.

“By the way,  _ Sheriff _ .” Jo said and tapped the nameplate on his desk but he thought she was pointing at his glove. 

"I know, nipples are under 'second base' but she's not getting my shirt or pants off without buttering me up a little first. I'm not easy. She's not getting what she wants out of me until we have some kind of arrangement worked out. There is tension, a lot of it. Over _my_ husband and where she fits in and I know she's in the middle of everything. So I need dinner, at least. Maybe a few drinks. Talk this out like adults, we can make this work together. Until then, she's not seeing my tits and I'm not making her job easier." Jack said and winced again as he heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. Shit!

_ "Sir, I'm going to transfer you to someone who can assist you with your questions." _

Jo laughed and ignored all that. “Back to what I was going to say."

"Yes. Please." Jack said. "Do continue. I think the DMV lady is trying to trace my call so she can tip off the FBI." 

"You’re aware that ‘Sheriff’ is a title reserved for county level law enforcement, right?”

“Yeah?” Jack said and looked at her and then pointed to the patch on her shoulder that said, ‘ _Town_ of Eureka, Deputy’. “I don’t think the dudes wearing Fedoras who made the town knew that though. Figured they wanted an old west theme here on the ye old Oregon Trail. Probably why they allowed a US Marshall to wander into town, it's in the town charter somewhere that we must pay tribute to the old west.”

“Eureka, the town, _is_ it’s own county.” She said and he made a face that said he was hearing his husband’s voice in his head nagging at him about ‘reading his contract’. “The DMV, has county level offices. _We_ , are also the DMV of Eureka.”

Jack slowly hung up the phone and then folded his hands on his desk and very politely said, “I did not know that.”

“Part of the ‘secret’ of the secret town is not being on the books anywhere. Including local government.” She said and then pointed out the front door, even though they could not see out the front door at what she was pointing at. Jack got the point though. “The license plates? On all the cars? Says ‘Eureka’, not Oregon.”

Jack nodded and made a ‘huh’ sound. “Well, that answers _that_ question. Any chance you want to tell me how Fudgey was Nathan’s sperm while you’re unraveling the secrets of the universe for me? ”

“That’s best left for the geniuses because I still don’t get it. Tag had some wild light show and PowerPoint presentation combo that rivaled anything I ever saw at a museum, and I still don’t get how he basically grew a sea monkey into a sea creature. I’m honestly not sure he does either. Top notch presentation though, he even sang the theme song.”

“Nathan sang it?”

“No Tag.”

“Oh.” Jack said and digested all this information. He looked across the room at the American flag on a stand by the desk. Everything he just learned went right out of his head. “Oh my god, _who_ sings the National Anthem at the game?”

“You know the answer.” She said and nodded appreciatively. “And your man will reduce you to tears. It’s a real shame that Fudgey died when he did because I really thought once he got past his weird whale puberty stage that he was going to show he inherited Nathan’s singing voice.”

Jack was thinking about Nathan belting out the Star Spangled Banner at the game tonight and almost missed that part about Fudgey singing. _Almost_. It was hard to not tune in and listen when someone said the phrase ‘weird whale puberty’ and now he wished he didn’t hear any of that. Did he really want to ask?

“It’s on EuTube.” She said before he could ask. “Tag made videos and recordings of his entire experiment. Whales are very social and Fudgey was alone so Tag...was his pod.”

This kept getting worse. Jack wasn’t sure what was going to be harder: issuing his daughter a learner's permit himself or watching videos of teenage Fudgey whistling out his whale songs to his surrogate father, Jim Taggart. Maybe..he really didn’t want a quiet day in the office after all.


	84. Play Ball

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 84

**Play Ball**

* * *

The day may have been quiet and uneventful for Jack, but Nathan’s day must have been hell to make up for that. He missed lunch, he missed rescheduled lunch, he missed a ‘stress relief’ no-food lunch, and he missed dinner. Now Jack was warming up, in his new well fitting uniform, with Zoe as his catcher and he was worried Nathan would miss the game as well. 

“Come on Dad, that’s not a fastball.” Zoe said and tossed the ball back at him. “Unless I asked for a Change-Up, which I don't think I did. Maybe you need your eyes checked? Perhaps when you take me to the DMV for my learner's permit and change your driver's license over from California? ”

"Yeah, well unless you want your eyesight checked at the emergency eye wash station it will have to wait. I didn't ask where we keep the eye test machine and I'm pretty sure I need to take a test to be able to officiate those tests. So, just because Nathan is getting a car from the motor pool at GD and S.A.R.A.H. is getting a car, doesn't mean you need your permit immediately. Especially since you don't have the adequate paperwork to apply for one." Jack rolled his eyes. “Besides, it’s warm up and I don’t know if I’m going to need a real fastball.”

“It’s warm up and you don’t need to warm up to throw a ball that slow.” She replied. "Only thing going slower, will be me: driving with my learner's permit." 

Jack smiled as he tossed the ball in his hand. He missed this. "I'm working on it."

“You’re distracted, because your all-star husband isn't here yet.” She said and punched the glove she borrowed. “So let's give these people something to worry about, huh? You know they all have their homemade speed guns trained on you so make them think they're calibrated wrong. Give me a fast one, right down the center. Show them what real baseball is!”

Jack knew she was right. Hell, as competitive as Eureka was he wouldn’t be surprised if they blew up something at GD just to keep Nathan busy and give the other team the edge. Gambling around here was a problem. Especially with Fargo on the other team. “Alright, kid.”

Zoe watched him windup for the pitch and knew from experience she just needed to hold her glove steady because her Dad never missed his target. They used to practice like this when he played with his league back in L.A., before his job took him on the road too much to be able to play. In the blink of an eye, the impact was felt in her glove and she folded the glove around it. Beside her, her phone chirped, ‘89’. “Not bad.”

“Not bad?” Jack snorted. “That’s pretty good for not doing this for almost a year and not knowing I was starting pitcher until yesterday.”

“Not bad.” Nathan said as he walked up and slapped Jack on the ass. “Still got it, just like the scouting reports said you would.”

“I was worried you wouldn’t make it.” Jack said and Nathan pulled him over by his uniform and kissed him. He grinned at him and looked him up and down. “You’re still in a suit.”

“Wouldn’t miss it. Still have to change. Busy day.” He replied. “So, I read your text messages about what pitches are called and what you want to use them for.”

“Yeah?” Jack asked, happy to hear it was received and appreciated.

Nathan pulled out his phone and showed him the text string. “The pictures you sent me….were probably were not the best to send.”

“Well…” Jack said and noted that taking pictures of his crotch with his finger pointing out signals made it look like he was sending dick pics of a  _ very tiny dick _ . “That looks like I’m not wearing pants. I was wearing my uniform pants...maybe I shouldn’t have taken them under the desk. I just didn’t want Jo to see what signs I was using.”

“Yeah. They’re also upside down.” Nathan shook his head and put his phone away. “I’ll need you to review what you expect me to do with that.”

“OK.” Jack nodded. “Uh..now?”

“I’ll change. Be right back.” Nathan said and slapped him on the ass again and went back to the loaner car to get his gear bag and uniform.

“Like I said, grown men slapping each other on the butt.” Zoe repeated her comment from Monday. 

“Yeah, it does have its perks.” Jack said and tossed the ball in his hand. “So what’s next, coach?”

“Sinker.” She said and squatted down again. 

* * *

“Are you going to be alright?” Nathan asked as Jack wiped his eyes again and sniffled.

“No.” Jack dried his eyes again. “Nobody is! Did you really have to go that hard?”

Nathan sighed and looked around at his team from the pitcher’s mound. He had his hands on his hips, catcher’s mitt on one hand and mask in the other. He looked up at the announcer’s stand where Henry was located and just shrugged. The start of the game had now officially been delayed because _he sang_. 

_ “Well folks, it looks like we might be ready to get started.” _

Nathan rolled his eyes. Even Henry was choking up. “I don’t know what everyone is so worked up over. I didn’t have much of a chance to warm up, I was pitchy.”

“Nathan.” Jack swallowed some mucus and sniffled again, trying to compose himself. “That was...amazing. Maybe our greatest weapon for protecting America, is you. I think the founding fathers just crawled out of their graves, so inspired by hearing you sing the National anthem they want to fight for America again.”

“I hope not. I really don’t need to deal with another outbreak of that Zombie Fungus.” Nathan put his hand on Jack’s shoulder, mask and all, and squeezed him. “You need to take advantage of the tears and strike these guys out.”

“You made us all cry so we could gain an advantage over their top hitters?”

“No, I’m taking advantage of the situation and I  _ was pitchy _ .” Nathan took his hand back and marched back to home plate. “Now pitch!”

Jack stood on the mound alone and took a deep breath. Nathan’s voice stirred emotions in him, but never like that. He was not pitchy. He was perfect.

_ “Well, it’s a beautiful day here at Quantum Field.”  _ Henry’s voice came over the PA.  _ “More beautiful after that incredible rendition of our nation’s anthem by the one and only Dr. Nathan Stark.” _

The crowd cheered as Nathan put his mask on and squatted down behind the plate. Jo approached the plate and took a few warm up swings and he looked up at her and could tell his singing had just empowered her. She was a soldier, a graduate of the military academy, a woman from a military family. She was ready for battle now. “Lupo.”

“Stark.” She said and took her place in the batter’s box. “Your boy going to get his shit together and throw the ball or just cry for the rest of the game?”

“Hell if I know.” Nathan mumbled. 

“Hey! Carter!” Jo screamed. “No crying in baseball!”

Jack could hear it in her voice, Jo was inspired. Nathan’s singing had made her _more_ powerful. He should have seen that coming. 

_ “Our very own Jack Carter, the new starting pitcher for the Neutrons. He’s a certified ball player, folks. An MVP. Scouting reports say he’s got the ass behind his throws. At the plate, is Eureka’s own MVP, Jo Lupo. What an exciting game we have for you folks tonight. Let’s play ball!” _

Jack watched the umpire give Nathan the ball and he tossed it out to him. He had to focus. Jo would hit a live drive right back at his head if he doubted her ability. Nathan asked for a fastball and it was tempting, but he knew that was what she was expecting. He shook off the pitch and he could tell from Nathan’s body language he was annoyed by that. Oh, they should have practiced more.

“Carter is looking for his pitch and doesn’t like what Stark is giving to him.”

Jack frowned.  _ Really, Henry?  _

Nathan asked for a breakaway pitch that would come in an arc and cut away from this right handed hitter. It seemed like a good tactic, give her something fast she would want to get a hold of and then make her reach for it because of her smaller stature. Jack, said no. Again.

_ “Oh, he shakes off another pitch! You’re seeing it here, folks, Nathan Stark being told NO twice in a row!” _

Jack had to take the next pitch or Nathan was going to throw his mask off and come charge the mound himself.  _ Thanks, Henry.  _

“You two having some communication issues?” Jo asked. 

“When does he ever listen to me?” Nathan grumbled. OK, one last chance before he went out there. He asked for a sinker. According to Jack, that was his two-seam fastball. It would look a lot like a fastball down the center but would arc down and in toward the right handed hitter. If she wasn’t careful, she’d get hit. If she let it brush her back or take a swing, it would piss her off anyway and set them up for the next two strikes because Lupo let her temper get the better of her. Jack nodded, the pitch was acceptable. Now he just needed to catch the damned thing.

_ “Finally! He sees something he likes!” _

“Took long enough, I thought he liked everything you offered him from that area of your body.” Jo commented and prepared herself. Carter wanted his first pitch to make an impression and she was going to make sure it made an impression in the ground on the other side of the fence.

“You and me both.” Nathan said. “Apparently this is a whole new ball game and I’m not actually in charge.”

_ “He winds up for the pitch!” _

Jack hoped to God he still had it. He didn’t get a lot of practice in and he really did not want this ball to wander and hit Jo. Now or never.

Jo watched the ball come in fast and she was glad they finally had a real pitcher and real baseball in this town. She was about to swing when the ball cut down and in and she had to jump back from the plate thinking it would hook in and hit her. It didn’t. It caught a good chunk of the inside of the strike zone and she genuinely misjudged the pitch. 

“Strike!” Called the ump.

Nathan grinned. OK, this might not be so bad after all! He stood up and tossed the ball back to Jack. Jo was definitely looking for a fastball to hammer out of the park, he should have expected that to be the case. She knew Jack could throw hard and with accuracy, Dylan Hartwell’s shoulder was the evidence of that. Of course most pitchers with a good arm would probably have chosen to throw as hard and as fast as possible to open the game up, especially with Eureka’s teams having been virtual only to this point. Jack knew his game and Nathan was appreciating how many games he knew.

* * *

Jack was enjoying the celebratory dinner that Vincent had put together almost as much as enjoyed the game and Nathan’s singing. His team had won, but Jo and Taggart had already demanded a rematch and it was looking like there might be a league here in Eureka after all. He was in the bleachers enjoying gourmet ballpark fare and waiting on Nathan to pry himself away from the church lady who was now trying to bribe him with science to come sing for the choir. 

“Tuesday.” 

Jack looked over as Kevin made his way down the bleachers to hand him a notebook. “Hey, thanks for doing this for me, Kev.”

“What exactly…” Allison asked as she came over to sit by him. “Did you ask him to do?”

“He wrote down all the pitches and hits. The play by play of the game.” Jack said and flipped the page. “And calculated the statistical probability of all the players swinging at certain pitches. He’s officially our bench coach.”

“Did Nathan put him up to this?” She asked.

“No.” Jack said and realized he probably overstepped his boundaries again. “I did. Sorry I didn’t ask you. I just saw him in the stands drawing and I thought I’d get him involved.”

“No.” She said and pet Kevin’s head. He was smiling. “No need to apologize, I appreciate it.”

“Archimedes here loves his numbers calculations, I figured I couldn’t hire a better person for the job.” Jack said and took his ball cap off and put it on Kevin’s head. “Next game, I plan to pitch a no-hitter thanks to this info!”

"Speaking of hits." She said and adjusted Kevin’s new hat for him. “I also appreciate you letting me play first base, even if I let that throw get by me.”

“I should have expected Fargo to bunt.” Jack admitted. “We should have taken a step in-field. We’ll get there, it’s the first game.”

“Well, it’s nice to see everyone making an effort.”

“Some more than others.” Jack said and looked over at Fargo. “Fargo trying to steal home on that pop fly was something else. I have to say it’s the first time I’ve witnessed someone latch on to the catcher in a bear hug instead of trying to take his ass out.”

Allison had to laugh. Fargo ignoring the 3rd base coach telling him not to run past, ignoring Jo screaming at him, ignoring Nathan standing in his way...just to plow into Nathan full force and cling to him was something that belonged in a romance movie. Especially when her ex-husband just stood there, defeated and let his assistant hug him after he tagged him out. “Speaking of making an effort, I don’t feel I’ve been doing much of that.”

“Oh, you never get to play first base. It’s totally not your fault if you’re always stuck in the outfield.”

“Not about that.” She said. “About us. Nathan and I have a very intense history and a complicated relationship. I know that a lot of the changes I see in him are because of you and the efforts that are being made to include Kevin and I in your lives are from both of you.”

“Oh.”

“I know I’m very protective of Kevin which means I am not very open minded.” She said. “However, I think you were both right when you said that the changes I’ve seen in him are because of treatment from people in his life and not treatment from drugs. He’s never been engaged with baseball, he’s never watched me play, he’s never done anything but draw...and today he watched everything.”

Jack nodded. “I’m sorry about what I said about the drugs. I know it’s rough being a parent and wanting the best for our kids and nobody gave us a playbook when we took the job. We do what’s best and I know you’re doing what is best for him. We’re here though, and Nathan loves him as his own so...we’re here.”

“Did you know Zoe was sitting with him at lunch?” Allison asked. “At school?”

“No.” Jack said genuinely surprised.

“Even at Tesla, even in Eureka, even being brilliant...he’s still the autistic kid.” She said and tears started to form in her eyes. “That meant a lot to both of us that she did that.”

“She’s a good kid.” Jack said. 

“You’re both good people.” Allison said. “And I’m glad you want us to be a part of your family. It’s just been difficult having Nathan back, I haven’t handled it as well as I told myself I was.”

“I get it.” Jack said. “Hey, does this mean, since you saw me pitch, that I can get a stamp of approval on my physical?”

“Not by a long shot.” She said and laughed at him. “However I did snag some ointment that will help with your tender titties.”

“Aw, thanks.” Jack said with a grin. 

“Came from the maternity lab. It’s for sore nipples on breastfeeding mothers.” She said and started laughing. She pulled it out of her bag and handed it to him. “Use liberally.”

“NursingNumber?” Taggart asked as he walked by with his hot dog. “That’s good stuff. Highly recommend, mate.”

Jack shook his head as he took the tube of ointment and winced. “So….I’m going to regret asking this but, since whales are mammals…”

“They nurse their young.” Allison nodded. 

“Oh God.” Jack said and pinched the bridge of his nose. So many questions and  _ so many  _ answers he didn’t want to hear, but did he really want any of those questions on his internet browser history? 


	85. So He Dissolved, and Showers Of Oaths Did Melt

_Dissolved_

Chapter 85 

**So He Dissolved, and Showers Of Oaths Did Melt**

* * *

“Nathan, I am asking a simple question: Why did you never attend any of Allison’s baseball games?”

“And I am replying with a simple question, again. What does this have to do with the Artifact?”

Beverly folded her hands on her lap as Nathan sat across from her as defensive as ever. Her attempts to get him to open up were met with hostility and it was evident that now, more than ever, he was interested in protecting his relationship with Jack. “I’m trying to understand your priorities. I am trying to understand _you_.”

“Once again, why?” Nathan asked. “I understand my Artifact team has been forced to undergo these evaluations because of the nature of their work and the nature of Congressman Faraday's wounded pride. This project can, and will, challenge them to reassess everything they know. I can understand placing me under scrutiny because the Artifact is _everything_ and one misstep could destroy it or even the world. What I don’t understand is your obsession with my marriage to Jack Carter.”

“It’s not an obsession, it’s an anomaly.”

“Explain.” Nathan snapped.

She allowed him to feel like he was in charge to give herself the advantage. He was opening himself up to listen to her argument in order to shut it down permanently, if she was careful with her words she could plant a seed of doubt in his mind. “I was here when you were single. I watched you and Christopher Dactlyos have a short and rather explosive relationship. I watched you leave on sabbatical and come home with a wife and kid. I watched that marriage go from fairy tale to shambles. Then you left, again. Now I watch you and Jack and I don’t recognize the man who is with him, despite all those previous observations. The Artifact demands dedication and I see a pattern of you leaving Eureka when your relationships fail. So, is this the real you or the person you think you need to be to have a marriage and family?”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It was pretty straight forward.” She said. “Did you change for him or because of him? Because this version of you did not exist before. A chemical reaction, if you want t put scientifically, has created a new Nathan Stark. In a week and a half you went from a familiar downward spiral to divorce to a loving laughing couple in a therapy session. You played baseball with him last night. Was the first Nathan a deception for my benefit or are you truly capable of that kind of range.”

Nathan narrowed his eyes at her. “So you’re going to play off this line of questioning as concern about my potential to deceive you?”

“It’s a personality change I’m trying to explain.” She explained. “That is most definitely my field and most definitely under the definition of psychiatric evaluation. You were not able to laugh and joke with Allison the way you do with Jack. You were not able to enjoy a baseball game with Allison playing, but chose to play with Jack. Why?”

“Because he’s not Allison.” Nathan yelled. “She expects me to be in charge, always. She expects me to provide answers, always. Jack fights me for control, he questions me, always. They are two entirely different people and thus have brought out two entirely different versions of me. Is that reason to doubt my ability to manage the Artifact Team? The fact that I’ve been married twice?”

“Your personal life affects your work, yes or no?”

“Yes.”

“How much of this is to convince Jack to stay married to you and how much is it you enjoying yourself and some unfulfilled need to play baseball?”

“How much of this is designed to piss me off?”

“You’re already pissed off which makes me feel like I’m hitting on questions you’ve asked yourself already." Beverly said and watched him fume. "Questions that you’re avoiding answering because you’re afraid of the answers.”

“I don’t know." Nathan answered. "I enjoyed myself, I enjoy myself with most anything Jack and I do together. I married him because I genuinely appreciate and enjoy his outlook on things, the way he thinks and how he responds to challenges. If you’re asking how long this is going to last, how long it’s going to take before the interest of new experiences wears off and I go back to working non-stop to avoid admitting I have not changed, the answer is that this is a once in a lifetime love. I have never felt so alive as I have with him. I have never seen so many other aspects of the world despite spending my life studying how the world works on a quantum level. He shows me connections I never knew existed, he reveals to me ways I can connect to the world, him..everyone and myself. That man has opened my eyes more than the damned Artifact ever will. You remember the Artifact, right? That thing we are supposed to be discussing.”

Beverly saw passion in this speech, something that hadn’t ever been present in a Nathan Stark speech. He sounded good, he had charisma and confidence, but he lack that fire of passion. Now he had it. He believed in Jack, he had no doubts in how he felt. They were already so strongly bonded to each other that she was at a loss as to how she could even work around them more or less get between them. 

“So your answer to why I never watched Allison play baseball? Well, virtual baseball is boring as hell to watch and it’s virtual, meaning it’s calculated by a simulator. A simulator programmed by a human being, a simulation of how things _should_ act. I’ve programmed enough to just be able to visualize a code from observing how a simulation reacts. No mystery, boring. That sums up our marriage there. Ally and I acted like how _we should have acted_ and it was supposed to all fall together eventually but it didn’t. It was a virtual game that vanished as soon as the rose-tinted glasses came off. Jack’s version of baseball involves depth, strategy and chance. How well we communicate, how the physics of throwing the ball comes together, how the hitter reads the pitch, mental and physical exhaustion...his passion and understanding of the sport have led to my enjoying playing with him. We act on...what we feel and think through it together yet still distinctly unique to ourselves. So, in my opinion, I am more qualified to handle the stress of this job because he continues to help me develop into a better man.”

Beverly raised her eyebrows. “Well, that’s probably the first time you have ever been honest in this office.”

“Yeah, he has that effect on people.” Nathan said and at this point didn’t care if Beverly knew how damned much he loved Jack. It’s not like they were able to hide it and he sure as hell didn’t want to hide it. “So, do you find that a satisfactory answer so I can get back to work?”

“Yes. I feel like we’ve had a breakthrough.” She said and smiled at him. Maybe she was taking the wrong approach here. Instead of breaking them apart, she should be threatening to break them up and separate them. In a week and a half Jack Carter had managed to be at the center of a lot of incidents. He still hadn’t filled his required paperwork. Cobb recommended him but he could very well still be considered probationary. She’d think about that and see where she could take it for next week’s couples session. “Thank you for coming, Nathan.”

* * *

“Whales don’t have lips so they can’t suckle.” 

“Just _stop_. Please.”

“The baby nudges the slit and stimulates the nipples to invert.”

“Taggart, _please_ . I am _begging_ you!”

“Which causes them to jut out, just like this…” Taggart said and illustrated with his scaled-down silicone whale replica. “And the Momma injects the milk into the baby’s mouth.”

Jack barely dodged the stream of, what he hoped was, milk that shot out of the realistic mini whale on Taggart’s hand. This illustration, this show and tell, was his gift from Jo for winning the game last night. The joke was on her because she was punishing herself, because Taggart was passionate about whale breastfeeding and also about Fudgey, so laughter was not appreciated. She looked almost about ready to explode from holding back laughter. He mopped up the milk across his desk with her promotion request paperwork. “OK, I’m officially sorry I asked.”

“Whales nipples are more like slits.” Taggart continued and turned his hand over to show the 'real nipple action' on his replica whale, in order to illustrate. “They’re special folds of skin, here. Up til now, we have not been able to figure out if babies use their tongues to release the milk or if mother squeezes the milk into their mouth, however I was able to explore that with Fudgey.”

“Please Taggart!” Jack whined. “I just want to know how my husband’s sperm became a whale and not how you came in it’s mouth!”

“Jack?”

Jack bolted upright and looked towards the door. _Oh no._ That was not Jo or Taggart's voice. ”Abby?”

Jo had to put her fist in her mouth to stop from laughing. Not only did Jack’s ex-wife show up at the exact moment he asked about Fudgey, but Taggart chose that next moment to squirt Jack in the face with his whale demonstration toy! The timing was priceless! 

“Son of a bitch!” Jack exclaimed as he got hit with whale milk in the side of the face.

“Oh sorry about that.” Taggart said and put his little whale down on the desk. “I got a little excited and squeezed.”

“Taggart!” Jack screamed and took the handkerchief he was being offered and wiped his face off and then focused on his visitor. “Abby? What are you doing here?”

“That’s a nice way of welcoming your ex-wife.” Abby Carter said and noticed the side of his face was glistened with whatever the Australian guy hit him with. “You invited me, remember?”

“Yes.” Jack said. “You came early.”

“I said it was an accident.” Taggart grumbled and picked up his whale.

“Abby, you’re here a day early.” Jack restated and looked to Jo for assistance with her boyfriend. Jo was too busy trying to not die of laughter. Some super soldier she was. 

“I thought it would be nice to spend time with my daughter and see where my family lives.” Abby said and walked over to the desk. There were a lot of whale toys in the box and she wasn’t sure what kind of training the Sheriff’s Department needed on whales. “Maybe not leave it to chance that I could make the drive from L.A. to Oregon in one day and miss her big night.”

“Yeah.” Jack said and threw the rag at Taggart. "That's great!"

“You didn’t tell her I was coming.” Abby said, knowing Jack and his reactions all too well. 

“I thought it would be a nice surprise.” jack offered.

“She hates surprises.” Abby said with a sigh. “Just like her Dad.”

“Yeah.” Jack said and tried to come up with a better excuse but Abby didn’t want to hear he had been busy with work. “Uh, Jo? Maybe you can treat Taggart to lunch for taking time out of his busy schedule to tell me all about underwater breastfeeding tactics of whales?”

Jo nodded and was out of her seat instantly, walking across the room and grabbing Taggart by the arm as she went. She could only hold her laughter so much longer without pulling a muscle or peeing herself.

They were barely out of the building before he heard the explosion of laughter come from his Deputy. Jack smiled at Abby. “So…”

“You look good, Jack.” Abby said and wished seeing him didn’t hurt so much.

“Does she know you’re here?” Jack asked and wiped his face again to try to get off the greasy substance that he hoped was just milk.

“You look good too, Abby.” She said and rolled her eyes. 

“You do.” Jack said and realized he should have expected this and that she was right, he did ask her to come here. “Sorry, I should have followed up with you to see what your plans were instead of assuming you’d show up for the play on the day of the play.”

“I know. I also know you hate surprises and I could have called at any point in the last two days to let you know I was driving up.” She said and looked down at her coffee. 

“Good to see we’re still really good at this.” Jack said to lighten the mood but it didn’t help any. “Look, let’s start over. It’s really good to see you.”

“Is it?” She asked. “Because it’s not as easy as I thought it was going to be. None of it has been.”

“I’m sorry Abby, but you and I were drifting away from each other for years and…”

“And then one day you left and just never came back.” She said. “Like Zoe.”

“It was 15 years for us Abby and it’s like 15 days for Zoe.” Jack said and put his hands on his hips. “Are you having second thoughts about our agreement? Zoe’s doing great here. I gave her a chance and she's ran with it instead of running away.”

“No, I'm not starting a fight. I’m just telling you I miss you before your husband bursts in and puts his arm around you and makes it very clear you’re his.” She said and heard the door to the office open and expected to turn around and see Nathan standing there glaring at her. Instead she saw Jack’s co-worker.

“Hey,” Jo said as she came back in. “Sorry to interrupt, but there has been an incident at the spa.”

“Eureka _has a spa_ ?” Jack asked and was about to ask Jo how she knew about that when the phones were in here, she had just been outside, and they didn’t forward the calls to their cells yet. Then Nathan strolled in and smiled at them. Oh, that explained it. “Ok, there _has to be a device_.”

“Probably.” Nathan said and tried to put on his pleasant and phony smile for Jack’s ex-wife. “Abby. What a surprise.”

“Nathan.” Abby said and Jack made some guttural sounding noise as he felt compelled to take charge of the situation.

“So….the incident at the spa?” There was definitely a device, a convenient timing, plot device! How else could Nathan just decide to show up when Abby did!? What were the chances? He’d ask his husband for the mathematical calculation but he was pretty convinced he was the creator and user of the plot device. 

“I was on my way back from Beverly’s and got the call.” Nathan explained. “It was just easier to stop and tell you about it than explain it all over the phone.”

“You couldn't have stopped in sooner and saved me from getting shot in the face with whale milk." Jack said.

“Is that why your face is so shiny?” Nathan asked. “It’s very high in fat, I’m sure they’ll have some cleansing solutions at the spa.”

“Oh, you wanted to investigate an incident and also investigate the benefits of the spa with me?” Jack asked. Nathan smiled, big fat fake smile. No. He stopped because he saw Abby's Mercedes out front.

“I know about the spa, I am a member.” Nathan smiled. “You could too be too if you’d take my insurance and gain access to the many professionals who would be happy to help you recover from pitching last night.”

“Perks of being on his team?” Jo chimed in as she saw the look on Jack’s face that said he was thinking about caving just to get a massage. 

“Please!” Jack said and waved at his desk. “Taggart just held me captive for half an hour talking about massaging his mammary glands and nursing Nathan’s sperm into a whale, you have your own team and it’s Team Taggart Teats.”

“So the spa is GD employees and family only.” Jo said. “We should go find out who got killed and how.”

“Yes.” Jack said and looked at Abby who was taking this all in. Yeah, she had psychologist stuff brewing in her brain right now to unleash on him later. “I gotta work…”

“Big surprise.” Abby said. “You _have_ to work.”

“But Nathan can maybe take you to the house you’re going to be staying at and get you codes and stuff?” Jack asked and saw everyone look at him like he was an absolute idiot for that suggestion. Especially when Nathan definitely stopped by only because he saw Abby's car. It was a bad idea, but they were adults and needed to figure out their shit too. If he and Allison could call a truce, Nathan and Abby had to as well. Plus, he really needed to work and he didn’t need to have Abby holding it against him. That would put him in a mood to react to everything she said and Zoe didn’t deserve that. “I mean, it’s your house and I need to Sheriff.”

“Yes, dear.” Nathan said and Jack waved at him and Abby and left with his Deputy. He looked at Abby and she looked at him. “So, do we want to start our peace talks with how I hate how you psychoanalyze him or how you’re still in love with him?”

“Why not with the fact that he asked me to help him fix his flaws so he didn’t ruin his marriage _to you_ but never wanted to work to fix ours?” She asked. “Or that he was content being separated, even if we both had someone else on the side, until he met _you_.”

“So I stole your husband.” Nathan said. 

“And you know it or you wouldn’t be so protective of him around me.” 

“I’m protective of him because of how insecure you made him.” Nathan countered. 

“He used to think it was fun to fight with me, he liked the challenge.” Abby replied and crossed her arms. 

“Well then your presentation of your professional opinion sucked.” Nathan said. “As grateful as I am that you’re helping him work out his issues, I am apprehensive of the damage it may cause. I promised I wouldn't start a fight with you so, if you want to take this discussion to the director’s house I’ll give you the tour and keys and leave you alone.”

“ _Director's_ house?” She said. “You’re the director. You’re not living in your house, you’re living in his?”

“Yes.” He said and before she could ask he added, “I’m terrified of losing him. Home is where he is.”

“Then it’s a good thing you work together.” She said and walked past him to the door. “I’ll follow you, if you want to lead the way.”

Nathan turned and followed her out. Perhaps this was the best way to air out their issues; without Jack present. He was sure that Jack seized the opportunity to throw them at each other to have them a little off balance for this inevitable confrontation, but the drive to the house would give them both a bit of time to collect their thoughts. Good. He liked a challenge too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abby's in town so next episode being tackled is Unpredictable from Season 2. Might as well do it all out of order, right?
> 
> Chapter title is a quote from Midsummer Night's Dream. I'll get my theme going to go with the Midsummer Night's Invasion school play coming up because I love those complicated layers.


	86. I’ll Follow Thee and Make a Heaven of Hell

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 86

**I’ll Follow Thee and Make a Heaven of Hell**

* * *

“Brilliant move, sending Abby home with Nathan.” Jo said sarcastically.

“Wasn’t it?” Jack asked and she looked at him trying to determine if he was serious.

“Oh." She said and took a deep breath. "You really think that was a good idea.”

“Look, they’re going to need to fight it out.” Jack said. “I know them both and as much as I would like to have Nathan keep his promise to not pick a fight with Abby, I know that's not going to do them any good.”

“Fight,  _ over you _ ?” Jo asked.

“No.” Jack said. “Abby and I are divorced and we should have done it years ago. We thought we were doing Zoe a favor and it turns out we were wrong. She spends more time with Beverly’s therapy device headset thing than I really care to admit, and most of that is because of her parents.”

“Ok.” Jo said and started walking through the courtyard to the grotto where the 'incident' happened. 

“That was as convincing as Nathan’s phony ass smiles.” Jack said and tapped Jo’s shoulder. “Come on. Lay it on me. If we’re going to be partners and friends I can’t have you holding back.”

“Your ex-wife is still in love with you.” Jo said, not holding back at all.

“Yeah, that's why she slept with other guys while we were still married.” Then Jack grimaced. “I guess I did too.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, people in your life take drastic measures to get your attention. Zoe ran away from home, so her US Marshall Dad could find her. Abby cheated on you when you weren’t home, to get you to stay home. Nathan tried to get you transferred so you would come home. I see a theme.”

“Oh.” Jack said. “That I work too much?”

“They love you and they cause problems to get your attention.” Jo answered. It was pretty obvious. “Your job is to fix other people’s problems. So they make work for you so you would be interested in coming home.”

“Now you make them sound like bad dogs.” Jack shook his head. “Well, of course I still love Abby, we were married for 15 years. That doesn’t mean that we’re  _ in love  _ anymore.”

“Maybe _ you’re _ not, but the way she looked at you said she wasn’t over you.”

“You can’t just  _ get over _ someone you made a life with.” Jack explained. “I’m sure it’s been hard losing both Zoe and me to Eureka.”

“To Nathan.” Jo clarified the real issue here. 

“We should get to the crime scene.” Jack said and walked past some people doing some zen type stuff. 

“So, too much truth?”

“I...just have to think about it. Truth is good, I appreciate it. I just have lower processing capacity than everyone else around here.” Jack said. He fell silent and was immediately thinking about how he asked Abby to help him change into the man he should have been for her. Was that cruel? No. She admitted they weren’t right for each other, competing in the wrong ways. She knew he was married now, she knew he wasn’t getting divorced, she knew how much he loved Nathan because Zoe told her….. _oh_. Maybe this was a little much, a little too soon. Was he flaunting his happiness in her face!? That wasn't his intention.

“Carter?”

Jack rubbed his eyes. “Ok, work. Yes. What do we have?”

“A frozen dude in a thong.”

Jack looked at her and waited for the grin. None came, she was serious. “As is  _ cryogenically  _ frozen? Is that why Nathan told you about this case, because he used to specialize in cryogenics and thus, is a suspect, and I am once again on the sidelines because my husband is connected to  _ everything _ ?”

“No, thankfully.” Henry said as he walked up and joined them. Jack had called him on the way over knowing there was going to be either ‘science or a body’. They got both. “This is a fission powered hot spring.”

“A  _ hot _ spring that  _ froze _ someone?” Jack asked. “Wait, these brainiacs use a nuclear reactor to heat their whirlpools?”

“Not the reactor, just the by-product of the core cooling system.” Henry explained.

“Oh, yeah that is  _ way  _ safer.” Jack said as they walked up the hill to the hot spring and saw frost everywhere, on the trees and ground, and on the frozen dude in a thong. He looked like an ice sculpture. It was kinda...cool. “ _ This _ is a by product of the cooling system?”

“Flash freezing?” Henry shook his head. “Not likely.”

“Well we better get an ID.” Jo said and she looked at the bluish man of ice that used to be a GD employee. She circled him and couldn’t say that his face rang a bell. She took out a pen and couldn’t resist tapping his head to see if he was solid or not. Maybe the ice could be cracked like an egg and there was a normal body encased within? Instead of giving her an answer, the guy shattered into pieces. 

Jack bit his lip and looked at Henry, Henry looked at him, and Jo took a step back from the pile of frozen person shards on the ground.

Joe took a deep breath. Not the end of the world, the body was just completely unrecognizable and in a million pieces. She tried to remain optimistic and looked to Carter, “OK, so which piece do we start with?”

  
  


* * *

“Look, Nathan.” Abby said as soon as he opened the front door to the house and dropped the keys in her hand. “I’m not here to fight with you or Jack.”

“That’s why I’m leaving now.” Nathan said. “Because we are going to fight over Jack.”

She watched him pivot and take a few steps towards his car and said, “I am jealous of you. I admit it. Who wouldn’t be? He’s so in love with you that he’s opening himself up to what he hates the most: my criticism.”

“Then tell him _that_ because he needs to hear that not everyone wants _me_.” Nathan stopped in his tracks. He turned to her. “Did it ever occur to you that you shouldn’t tear him down? He doesn’t value himself enough, that’s why he’s always trying to sacrifice himself?”

“I only wanted to point out what was holding him back from his own happiness. You and I want the same thing. You’re just better at showing him things because you’re not competing with him for the same view. You’re better at fighting for him instead of with him.”

“We have fought plenty. But this isn't about us. You can’t point out someone’s flaws and not expect them to count it against their own self worth, not someone like him” Nathan said. “Jack holds himself against a higher standard than we do. You and I can justify a means to an end, but he feels everything must be justified. I’ve made it clear that I don’t like how you treat him but I realize I have never made it clear why. That’s why. Not because I question your intentions, but because he hides how he questions his actions so well.”

“It’s also because you work with him that you can see that.” She said and looked at the keys. “I never worked with him, I worked from a different angle...a different view. That’s what kept us apart. You’re right, I see the analysis as a way to understand and better people, much like you view your research. Jack believes in right and wrong and if it’s criticized, it must be wrong.”

“I know that. It’s why making this work in Eureka is so important to me. We both love our work and I really do enjoy working with him.” Nathan replied.

“Then why did you get him transferred?" Abby asked.

“I didn’t.” Nathan was getting tired of answering this question. He was also tired of it being an accusation. “Zoe did.”

“What? How?”

“Long, confidential story.” Nathan sighed. “She’s a lot like her Dad. She sees these very simple common connections and just makes them happen.”

“Nathan, I think you’re looking at this all wrong. Yes, I do still love Jack. I always will.” Abby said. “He’s asking me to help him modify behavior he learned while with me. The hurt we cause each other has deep roots. He feels that those roots have grown into the drainage and are clogging things up and will start causing problems with the foundation. He never thought his actions were wrong with me and I agree with him. We clashed. I drug him around to my alumni functions and I knew he was intimidated by all the doctorates and yet….I put him in that situation. I’m told that’s all Eureka has to offer: Doctors, everywhere. Yet you are proud of him. You brought him here. You listen to his expertise.”

“Well, some days he makes it hard to listen when he’s screaming about ‘Invisibling devices’ but he’s yet to be wrong.” Nathan said and realized that Jack’s marriages were a lot more similar than his own. Abby was smart, she didn’t shy away from talking to Jack about her profession, but she took the high ground and held it over him. He...had tried that to begin with but had quickly gained respect for Jack and had truly enjoyed discussing things with him. His own marriage to Ally suffered for the same reason, Allison had been intimidated by his accomplishments and accolades and chose to not engage with him on that level and took the high ground by working for the government instead. Oh, were they going to have fun picking apart their pasts.

“You’re sharing your feelings, Jack and I didn’t. That helped us grow apart. We both feared expressing ourselves and being vulnerable to each other. We viewed it as a weakness.” Abby played with the house keys in her hand. “I looked at his feelings too deeply and hurt him without realizing it. So , in turn, he stopped sharing them with me. He..stopped feeling for me because he’s so incredibly emotional and passionate that he only knows how to throw his entire self into everything he does.”

“You’re here for closure.” Nathan said as he realized this was more than just a visit to see her daughter.

“I had a very long drive from L.A. to think about him, how much I miss my family and what led to me being alone.” She said and looked at the open door to the house he was giving her to stay in and said, “I want to make sure the door is open to come back.”

“The door may be more open than you realize.” Nathan said as he took a few steps back to the front porch and decided to overstep his boundaries a little. “Jack and I are being required to take couples therapy because of our positions of power in this town. Jack doesn't trust our resident therapist and now I don’t either. She is deliberately trying to drive a wedge between him and I. This morning I was in a session with her, required for work, and she kept throwing my failures with Allison in my face and asking how long it was before I made those same mistakes with Jack.”

“I’m sorry,  _ she what _ ?” Abby asked as Nathan ushered her into the house and closed the door. He checked a panel on the wall, she assumed for security, and then continued.

“Jack already told me he was thinking about turning you loose on her and I thought it was a great idea.” Nathan put his hands in his pockets. “I’m taking that one step further, now. I want Beverly gone. Expanding on your analogy, she’s the roots in Eureka’s plumbing. She’s under the surface- in everyone’s home and under their picture perfect lawns. She’s clogging up the healthy arteries of the town’s waste removal system, acting where nobody can see her, compromising more than just foundations. She's compromising the very ground it’s all built on, leaching into the water table and contaminating the most basic need we have to sustain life here. Help me get rid of her and you can have her job.”

Abby wasn’t expecting this. She was expecting another weekend of hostility from Nathan as he sat next to Jack like an attack dog on a leash, just waiting to dig into her. This was far from that. “You’re serious?”

“You need your daughter and she needs you. I understand how it feels to not be able to see your kid. I know how it feels to be the Dad with custody for teh weekend and see how much your son just wants to _go home_ because you're just a visit for him. I know Zoe is doing great here, but the novelty will wear off soon and she’s going to miss you.” Nathan looked around, surveying the house he genuinely adored. “Jack pointed out to me last week that I was only going to be content living at his place for so long because of how much I like this stupid house. I wish that wasn’t true, but it is. I would compromise, it’s just a house, but….it’s just a house. So why make it an issue? We plan to move here eventually and that means a lot to me that he sees a problem before it happens. So I think our success in Eureka hinges very much on us being honest with each other and ourselves. Zoe got what she thinks she wanted, but Eureka is still a vacation to her and eventually she’ll get homesick. She’s going to miss her Mom.”

Abby looked at him and knew her mouth was hanging open. “Well, I see why he loves you so much.”

“I never used to be this agreeable, this willing to compromise. Certainly not with my ex-wife.” Nathan said and shrugged. “However, I learned from watching Jack work that applying _how you work_ to everything has its benefits and it’s drawbacks. If my life’s work is based on the idea that nothing is definitive because we don’t have all the information, that only through experimentation and study can we keep moving forward, then why be complacent? Laws of nature and physics should be a guideline, and most times, a target. We should be challenging what we knew yesterday to keep pushing the boundaries. So, to remain stagnant and unmoving in my personal life despite noting all the pressures, and flux of change of the environment around me….is senseless. It's stupid. It's like watching a time lapse of how the sands of Egypt eroded the Sphinx or the waters of the Rio Grande created the Grand Canyon. Why stand still when nothing in this world is fixed and everything bends to pressure somehow?”

“You got that _from Jack_?” Abby asked incredulously.

“It was loosely inspired by him.” Nathan admitted. “My point is, adapting to the changes we see or anticipate is not abandoning our previous position. Jack trusts you and your background is good enough to get you hired here. Zoe needs her Mom and you need your daughter. Beverly, knows too much and she has other motives, I need her gone. I need someone I can trust, an outsider, to take a close look at Beverly. Jack trusts you, ergo, so do I.”

“Do you really think Jack and I will work as well together as you and Allison do?”

“Ally and I never really work together and we certainly don't work well when we do.” Nathan admitted. “She likes to drop things in my lap and walk away. Which works, because she is a D.O.D. liaison and should not be involved in anything but liaising. She is a buffer between me and Washington and it cuts down on how much I have to deal with them. Speaking of the D.O.D, they expect to have a fully functional anti-missile shield array by Friday and unfortunately both my teams lost a few days work from having to detox from some drugs they cooked up. So I need to get back to work on that so I don’t miss Zoe’s play. Think on my offer.”

“I will.” She watched him open the door and added, “You might want to tell Jack about this conversation, he hates surprises.”

“He deserves this one for dumping you in my lap so I could check you into the house.” Nathan smirked. “Welcome to Eureka, Abby.”

“I didn’t accept the offer.” She reminded him and got a knowing smile that said he knew was seriously considering it.

“Yet.” Nathan said and left. “Feel free to unpack all of Jack’s shit if you get bored. It’s all in the garage. He has no idea what’s in them.”

“They’re labelled.”

“He doesn’t read.” Nathan snorted and closed the door to get back to work and hopefully have a chance to explain all this to Jack before he got pissed about it. Even after he told him he was probably going to get pissed about it. Well, it’s not like Jack really liked any of his solutions to Eureka’s problems, so why start now? 


	87. And Yet, To Say the Truth, Reason and Love Keep Little Company Together Nowadays

_Dissolved_

Chapter 86 

**And Yet, To Say the Truth, Reason and Love Keep Little Company Together Nowadays**

* * *

“Still think these nuclear hot tubs are safe?” Jack asked as he squatted down beside Jo and Henry picking through the frozen remains of their victim with super long lab tweezers.

“Yes. In order for this to happen, temperatures would have had to drop to negative 460 degrees Fahrenheit…” Henry said and snapped his fingers. “Like that. The hot springs didn’t do this, they couldn't have.”

“Better question?” Jo said and waved at the pile of ice man. “How do we get an ID off a guy who looks _like that._ ”

Jack looked at the pieces of their victim and offered, “We look for a finger?”

“Now it’s beginning to sound like the pictures of your finger that you sent me via text, yesterday.” Nathan said as he walked up to the frozen hot spring and looked down at the trio picking through pieces of flash frozen person. “Maybe I can help? Only took me five minutes to figure out you were sending me digit pics.” 

“Yeah, grab some tweezers, squat down and help us find some fingers, genius.” Jack said and picked up something that was definitely not a finger.

“Looks like Fargo was here.” Nathan said as he did not make a move to help identify the body or look for pieces of finger in the pile.

“No, Jo did this.” Jack said.

“Thanks, partner.” Jo said and bumped up against him as they squatted and tried to tip him over.

“Oh. Couldn't resist smacking it? Like a button, huh?” Nathan asked and Jo glared at him. “What? There is a reason Fargo is banned from the cryo-lab.”

“I thought it was because he was Pierre Fargo’s grandson and you were afraid he might try to find evidence of his Grandpa’s ‘mysterious disappearance’.” Henry pushed aside a piece that was finger-like but most definitely not part of the hand. "Triggering some kind of Scooby-Doo episode that ended with that damned Zombie virus getting out again."

“That too.” Nathan nodded. 

“OK, we will come back to that.” Jack said as he pointed his tweezers at Nathan and then pointed to the pile of man in front of them. “For now, the question is, are you missing a researcher?”

“More than likely.” Nathan replied. “Security here is top-notch and they only admit GD employees.” 

“Wow, you’re super helpful today. Did you come here to help clean up the mess or were you here for your massage appointment?” Jack asked and pointed to him with his tweezers. “You’re probably sore from all that squatting from the ball game yesterday. Is that why you’re not down here with us looking for identification? _Sore_?”

“My neck is still stiff from Taggart's tranquilizer dart and I probably should have that rubbed out, but my legs are in fantastic shape.” Nathan said and looked at the pieces of icicle man Jo was scooping up into a body bag. Jack was smiling at him and he smiled back. “How about you take a walk with me and exercise yours?”

“Here?” Jack snorted. “Oh..is this a hint you want to give me some _iced_ cream?”

“No, it’s me asking you to walk with me so I can get you away from everyone so when you start yelling at me all of Global doesn’t know why.” Nathan said honestly. “I really wish there was a chance you were going to want to be between my thighs at all after this, but, unless this is a sign that hell has frozen, over I seriously doubt any cream is on the menu.”

“Oh.” Jack said and stood up. “Why...am I going to yell at you?”

“Where am I losing you in the directions? Is it the part where you _walk_ or the place that you _walk to_?” Nathan asked. “Or is it the part where you’re not going to want to have sex with me?”

“I don’t want to be mad at you and you’re telling me that if I go over there I am going to be mad enough to yell at you _and_ not want to have sex.” Jack shook his head. “So no. I’m not going.”

“This is not how this works.” Nathan gestured with his fingers that they needed to be walking, in the direction of the bench about 50 feet away. "I am here to tell you something and I want some privacy to do that."

“Well, if A+B equals C yelling at S than the answer is NO.” Jack said and smiled smugly at him. "You're not triggering a chemical reaction of any kind, so HA!" 

“I told you your plan was stupid.” Jo said and kept sweeping up ice chips. Carter used his foot to try and tip her over and she pinched his calf with the tweezers to punish him for it.

“ _Oh!_ You fought with Abby.” Jack waved his tweezers at Nathan. “I was expecting that. I figured you should get it out of your system now. So, now that we’re past that, maybe you can tell me how your nuclear cooling system goes Instant Ice Age? Since you, you know, _love_ radiation?”

“Jack, I love you but you really need to stop flirting and start walking.” Nathan looked up at the sky and shut his eyes. Ok. This was going to bear a striking resemblance to their argument on Old Post Road the other day when he took over Jack’s crime scene and he had to remember that these were his own decisions that kept creating these situations. His snap decisions that he knew would piss off Jack but that he still made because that was why he had his job. Never before did he care who he pissed off, but now he cared way too much. He couldn't have this hanging over him all day, like a dark cloud about to unleash stormy hell at any moment. He opened his eyes and started walking to the bench on the other side of the grotto. “Can you _please_ join me over here?”

“I don’t want to.” Jack whined. “I don’t want you to make me mad!”

“I already did, without you realizing it.” Nathan said as he walked away. “So, unless you suddenly like surprises, you should follow me and find out what I did.”

Jack frowned. “I really don’t like his version of ‘easier to ask forgiveness than permission’.”

“Better go find out what he did.” Jo said and swept up more crunchy body bits. “Because if he froze the thong guy, I’m making him sweep him into the body bag. I just cut my finger open on a shard and I...think it might have been a shaft.”

“I doubt he’d feel the need to talk in private about the ‘cost of pushing the boundaries of science’..” Jack said in his Nathan mimicking voice. “He definitely would be up front about what he did and remind me that everyone accepts that ‘with great risks come great rewards’ and ‘it’s in their contract, don't you read?’.”

“Just go, Carter.” Jo said and shoved him. “Before you have an entire conversation with yourself that the man 50 feet away wants to be having with you.”

“Fine.” Jack said, gave her his tweezers, and tried to not slip and fall on his ass as he walked across the frozen hot spring and went over to Nathan. “OK, what did you do?”

“I offered Abby Beverly’s job if she helps us get her fired.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at him and said nothing. The words made sense, but he just wasn’t comprehending them. He started to say things, but stopped. The words... _made sense_ but he didn’t comprehend _why_ Nathan would say them. Then he just put his hands in his pockets and said, “Hmmm.”

“You can yell.”

“I appreciate you giving me permission to yell, but I would have really appreciated it more if you asked permission to offer my ex-wife a job prior to doing so.” Jack said and had to admit that Nathan was right, he was pissed.

“It just seemed like the right solution.”

“To _what_?” Jack asked. “Are you going to tell me about solutions, in the science sense of the word, and tell me why you think oil and water will mix when shaken up? What kind of solution is this, other than a recipe for disaster? What’s this a solution to?”

“To...making a life here?”

“Moving my ex-wife to Eureka is how... _we_ make a life here?” Jack asked, still confused. “You realize we’re divorced for a reason, right? And that I spent a lot of time not being around her, leading up to that divorce? Because we made each other miserable? And...I finally have my kid to myself and…”

“And?”

“I’m not going to yell at you for trying to take charge of my life, again, and move my pieces around the board for me, again. I see you already knew that was wrong. I just don’t get…. _why_ you would think that was a good idea?”

“I made a job offer, believe it or not, based on credentials.”

“I get that. I know how you work, I appreciate how you can turn any situation to your advantage. I get that you’re running the Most Superest Scienciest Place on Earth and that you are trying to clean it up and staff it with people you want working here.” Jack threw his hands up. “But, maybe just for a second, did it occur to you that maybe _I_ don’t want to work with my ex-wife while I’m trying to start a new life here?”

“It did.” Nathan nodded.

“I’m at a loss at how someone who is so brilliant can be so fucking stupid.”

“Because I asked her or I didn’t ask you?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you so confident that you’re right here?” Jack asked. “Why are you _always right_?”

“Because we agree we can’t trust Beverly and you feel you can trust Abby. I also wasn't thinking about any of us when I made the offer, or Global, I was thinking about Zoe and Kevin.”

“OK, keep talking.” Jack said and tried to stay calm. “I’m trying to not explode and right now you just pinched out the flame going down the detonation cord on the way to the huge pile of dynamite but it's still smoking and might flare up again.”

“You got Zoe on weekends, just like I occasionally get to spend time with Kevin.” Nathan said and played with his hand. “You know the look of a kid who just...is done with the visit and wants to go home. You spend the time you have thinking you’re finally being a Dad and because you’re not part of their everyday life anymore, you’re just _a place to visit_. So, in an effort to truly make Eureka home, I extended an offer to _Zoe’s Mother_ to stay.”

“Ok, you should have led with that.” Jack said and ran his hand over his face. He wasn’t sure how to react to this because he was upset and Nathan knew he was in the wrong, but yet he was doing this for the right reasons and...oh shit, this was how _every_ situation had gone thus far. _Every_ situation. “Maybe even start with why were you at Beverly’s this morning? Was that what brought on the urgent need to replace her?”

“I have to subject myself to her questioning because of the Artifact, Congressman Faraday’s ultimatum.” Nathan reminded him.

“Right.” Jack said. “And?”

“And she made it about you and me. She reminded me about my history here and that she knew so much about everything and everyone because of how long she had been here. Right now, her access to people is more concerning than any security clearance she shouldn’t have.” Nathan said and kept playing with his hands, nervous about how Jack was going to react. “And I was honest and said I love you more than anyone. I was honest with Abby too. And I’m being honest with you right now when I tell you I would genuinely prefer to not have your ex-wife living in the same town with us, especially since she still loves you, but it increases our chances of making a life here work.”

“Ok.” Jack said and once again felt like he didn’t know which direction to take this. He was pissed, but he also understood Nathan’s point. He wanted what was best for Zoe but he also wanted her to himself. He wanted Nathan to himself without having to feel guilty about how things went with Abby. “I guess.”

“You _guess_?”

“I mean, we need to figure out what Beverly is up to and Abby is more than capable and nobody would suspect her. This is a great cover story for her to work and...Zoe will be so happy to have her here. I do trust Abby, and I need her to help me get over some stuff, but...I also want a fresh start.”

“Can you answer as Jack Carter and not Sheriff Carter?”

“No?” Jack said. “Because if I do, I'm going to yell.”

“Can you at least tell me how badly I fucked up?” Nathan asked and Jack looked everywhere but at him. “I’m not used to second guessing myself and I absolutely hate this feeling.”

“You didn’t. It’s the right move for everyone. I...I’m just getting a little tired of always being wrong.” Jack said. “That’s a little selfish, but that’s the honest answer and I don’t know how that makes me feel either.”

“I didn’t reverse a decision or overrule you, I seized an opportunity.”

“I know, and I love how easy it is for you to do that and how great you are at your job. You amaze me because you can put aside your personal feelings and just do what needs to be done.” Jack ran his hand through his hair. “I’m trying to rationalize it all, OK?”

“I can retract the offer, tell her I don’t have the authority to fill that position.”

“No. It was a good move.” Jack said and just waved it all off. “I can’t talk about this right now. I have no idea how to put into words why I’m angry. You’re telling me the truth. You had a good reason. I love you very much, this doesn't change that. I just...I don’t quite understand why I feel like I do. It feels selfish and well, Abby’s _really_ good at making me feel selfish. So I guess, I’m glad you two get along so well that you can both make me feel this way?”

“OK.” Nathan said and Jack walked away, rubbing his neck as he went. “But you’re walking away from me....”

“I just...need time. You’ve never made me feel this way and I hate this feeling.” Jack interrupted.

“So you’re doing that thing where you say you’re OK with something and you’re really not.” Nathan said and Jack waved his hands in the sign for “strike” and Nathan understood it meant this conversation was over.

“I can’t talk right now. I’ll be fine. Just let me get back to work and I’ll call you later.” Jack said and didn’t turn around to look at him. He walked back over to Henry and Jo who were standing up and obviously done with the crime scene investigation as the guy was all contained in a body bag now.. “Got a name?”

“Neil Baxter.” Henry informed him and showed him his scanning pen and his PDA with the information on the identity. 

“Great.” Jack said and pointed toward the parking lot. “Let’s go to GD and see what we can find out about him and why he took an ice bath.”

Jo watched him leave and looked at Nathan standing by himself over by the bench and then looked to Henry. “Well, I guess _that answers_ how well their conversation went. So much for help getting Mr. Freezer Bag out out of here and into the car.”

“Nathan?” Henry called out as the man suddenly sprung into action and was striding over the ice like it was nothing. He was going to chase down Jack, but maybe..” A little help here.”

“Sorry Henry, I…” Nathan pointed towards Jack disappearing down the path. “I can’t.”

Henry rolled his eyes and looked at Jo. “Well, looks like it’s just you and me.”

“We got this, we don’t need them.” She said. "I just wish he wasn't so awkward."

"Jack?" Henry asked. "Or Nathan?"

"The dead guy." Jo said and Henry chuckled. "He keeps slushing around in the bag, which throws the weight off balance. Maybe we should have packed him up in boxes or a vacuum."


	88. Lovers and Madmen Have Such Seething Brains

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 88

**Lovers and Madmen Have Such Seething Brains**

* * *

  
  


Jack made it to the parking lot just as a very  _ very  _ isolated thunderstorm broke out over his Jeep.  _ Just  _ his Jeep. He stood there and stared at it, trying to determine if this was just an illusion, or if he had his own personal thundercloud dumping tons of water down on his car. “So that’s how this day is going to go. Super.”

Nathan jogged to catch up with him and couldn't help but slow down as he saw Jack watching a tiny thundercloud strike his Jeep with lightning and set off the sirens. He walked up to his husband and stood beside him, watching the bizarre event and put begging for forgiveness on hold for a moment.

“You’re seeing this too, right?” Jack asked.

“Yes.” Nathan replied.

“And, do you have an explanation for it?” Jack asked. “Maybe a device?”

“It’s probably a device, but not one I have if you’re asking if I did this to stop you from leaving before I could talk to you.”

“Good, because having a thundercloud follow me around is really cliche and not your style.” Jack said as thunder cracked and turned the sirens off. “How does  _ this _ happen?”

“Me making decisions without consulting you or a mini-storm enveloping your car and only your car?”

“I understand why you make your decisions. It’s your job. You have to act fast and choose the best solution and just deal with the fallout. I get that. You warned me I wouldn’t like how you did your job and this town likes to remind me of that every damned day.“ Jack pointed to his Jeep. “ _ That _ , I don’t get.”

“I’ll access weather related experiments. Perhaps that would explain the flash freeze of the hot spring as well.” Nathan said and looked it up as quickly as he could since Jack seemed in a good mood. 

“It’s definitely not the nuclear reactor?” Jack asked. “The hot spring thing?”

“Scientifically the reactor just doesn’t make sense. If the hot springs had boiled I’d say there had been a leak.” Nathan answered. “However I will also run a diagnostic on the nuclear reactor, the core and all the vents around Eureka, just for you.”

“Henry said something about the cooling system?” Jack frowned as the rain from his exclusive Jeep storm began to back up the storm drain in the parking lot. 

“It doesn’t get below 20 degrees.” Nathan shook his head. “That’s like skiing weather not arctic plunge.”

“Ok, different angle. What was Baxter working on?” Jack asked and the cloud rumbled and got darker. The wind started kicking up, making the antenna whip around. 

“I’ll get you Baxter’s file.” Nathan said and pulled up the man’s information on his phone, shuffling the weather experiments to the side. “Dr. Baxter was conducting a real-time study of the mating habits of primates in Tanzania.”

“How the hell is any of this connected?” Jack asked and then his Jeep started to get pelted with hail. “Some guy who watched monkeys fuck for a living got turned into an ice sculpture in a nuclear hot spring and my Jeep has it’s own personal hurricane? Nevermind _ why _ that guy has that job, why  _ my _ Jeep?”

Nathan looked up as the storm cloud expanded. “You just  _ had _ to ask.”

“I like to share. I’m an over-sharer.” Jack said as he ran with him over to his company car and got in just as the thunderstorm shared itself with the rest of the parking lot. He sat in the passenger seat and looked at him. “So I guess we can’t avoid talking now.”

“I didn’t do this.” Nathan said and looked out the window as a deluge opened up on them and made it impossible to see anything outside the car. He showed him his phone and the list of people who had weather related projects. “And all I wanted to do was apologize.”

Nathan handed him the phone across the center console and then grabbed his hand when he went to reach for it. Jack sighed. “I’m not mad, I’m just...sulking. Can I sulk?”

“Not on my watch.” Jack looked over at him as the rain poured down on the car and he squeezed his hand and leaned over to kiss him. 

Instead of giving in and kissing Nathan, Jack said, “I hate that you make me feel like you love me more when I’m like this.”

“Kinda my job.” Nathan said softly, poised inches away from his face as his stunning blue eyes searched his. At least he was looking at him now.

“Yeah, you were just doing your job.”

“And you’re changing the subject again.” Nathan said, keeping his voice soft. “I was talking about being a good husband and now you’re talking about being a good manager. We should be talking about how you’re a good man and have no reason to feel like you’re being selfish for wanting to be happy.”

“Then you and Abby really didn’t talk about me much.” Jack said. “Because all she ever did was tell me that I never did anything I didn’t want to do. Which is funny because she only ever did what was good for her.”

“Ok, so I made a terrible mistake.” Nathan said. 

“No, you didn’t. You make good calls, you might not make the calls I would but that’s why I’m not in charge of the building that can end the world with flash freezing hot tubs and ironically isolated thunderstorms. It’s why I base my calls on the law and not my personal feelings. I don’t make the decisions, I just keep people in line who do.” 

“My personal feelings are that I don’t want Abby anywhere near you because I think she’s done more harm than good with her professional opinions, but I also know it’s hypocritical of me to think that she can’t change if given the opportunity.” Nathan said and Jack’s eyes didn’t leave his. “And Eureka is a huge opportunity for all of us. I want  _ our _ experiment to succeed.”

“Then stop trying to influence the results, scientist.”

“It’s hard to think rationally where you’re concerned.” Nathan said and reached up and stroked his cheek. It was greasy, that damned whale milk residue was still there. He wiggled his hand into his shirt cuff to give him something to wipe the milk off and rubbed Jack's cheek with his shirt covered palm. “It’s passion and emotion that allows me to see things from a different perspective even if it’s not the logical approach to a situation. It’s the difference between the virtual baseball and real baseball that I so crudely tried to explain to Beverly this morning. Logic and patterns are a myopic view, very much the way the VR ball is played. Reality has many more influences than a finite program. I am used to thinking more logically, my work demands it. However, being with you has opened up my eyes to a lot more of the world and thinking about you makes me think so irrationally and embracing what feels right. I’m making more mistakes because this is new to me. Forgive me.”

“You talked with Beverly  _ about baseball _ ?” Jack pulled him over and kissed him. Tender, loving and with that emotion that made him throw rational thought out the window and embrace what felt right and good. “I love that I’m making you act stupid.”

“You would.”

“I’m not mad. I’m overwhelmed.” Jack said. “So much is changing and I can’t put anything on the back burner without it boiling over and burning me. I just would love to catch a break.”

“That’s not going to happen in Eureka.”

“I am selfish.” Jack said. “I’m taking up your time with our personal stuff when you have work you have to get done. I’m sure your section 5 druggies didn’t finish their project and instead of being there you’re having to drive my ex-wife to your house, come have a private conversation with me so I don’t overreact and sit in a car with me because a freak thunderstorm is attached to my car.”

“I’ll handle my work. You’re my priority.” Nathan said and then added. “Even though I cause our problems by prioritizing work instead of what you want.”

“Did you really talk baseball with Beverly?” Jack smirked.

“Yes, I’m pretty sure I’ve completely ruined my credibility with her because of you.”

“Good.” Jack said. “Did you tell Abby about her?”

“I did.”

“Good.”

“Are we good?” Nathan asked as the storm started to lighten up. 

“We never weren’t good. I simply wasn’t good at telling you why I was feeling what I was feeling. I hate surprises.” 

“Yeah. Well, then now is a good time to tell you I’m probably going to be working late and you can enjoy dinner with Abby and Zoe on your own. I have to figure out this Anti-Missile Shield Array and those section 5 teams _ are _ still twitchy from the MPH withdrawals.”

“I’ll see you at GD.” Jack said as the rain let up and he could actually see something other than a sheet of water rushing over the window. “I have to figure out something about our dead guy, and this frosty reception he got at the spa.”

Nathan watched him get out of the car and he went to start it only for Jack to pop his head back in. 

“Hey, you said Baxter worked with monkeys?”

“Yes. Remotely.” Nathan started the car. “His lab should be in Section 3, part of the primate lab.”

“The same monkeys that were used in the PX-319 paranoia beam experiment?”

“Nope. The monkeys are in Tanzania.” Nathan repeated and Jack nodded and winked at him.

“Right because if he works  _ remotely _ that means the lab is here and the monkeys are in Tanzania.” Jack said, turned to leave and then stopped. He leaned back in the car. “Which is in _ Africa _ .”

“Jack, I don’t have time to sing to you right now.”

  
Is that why I got an instant thunderstorm? Did you  _ bless the rains _ ?” Jack asked as he pointed to the roof of the car.

“Do I need to?” Nathan asked.

“You wanted to apologize didn’t you?” Jack said.

Nathan looked at him and then to the radio. “Fine. Get in, close the door.”

“Yes!” Jack said and grinned and rubbed his hands together as Nathan cycled through his playlist and pulled up the song for him and the familiar tune came on. To his delight Nathan smiled at him and started to sing, the music surrounding them in the car as his voice drowned out Toto’s vocalist. Nathan’s voice sent shivers down his spine as he sang this song just for him, with all the passion and emotion a 6' 4" man contained in the driver's seat of a luxury sedan could manage. 

Jo and Henry stood outside, completely soaked by a pop-up thunderstorm, and watched and wondered what the hell was going on in Stark’s car while they held a body bag between them filled with frozen dead guy bits and his crunchy, icy thong. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When life gives you lemons...
> 
> Or more appropriately when the canon material gives you monkeys in Tanzania you make it a point to embrace Africa by Toto.


	89. Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be

_Dissolved_

Chapter 89

**Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be**

* * *

“What makes you want to talk to the weatherman?” Jo asked Jack as they walked into the Eureka Channel’s studio. 

“Well, after Nathan finished singing _Africa_ , his radio defaulted to the weather broadcast which is a radio version of Dr. Puhlman’s forecast.” Jack said as they walked on set at the news station. “This guy seemed pretty thrilled to be reporting about a freak mini storm that just happened at the spa.”

“He’s a weatherman, Carter.” Jo said and sighed. “They get off on this stuff.”

“Well, he’s got his ‘StormTracker’ and ‘Cumultor 2100’ so maybe he has some data that can tell us about the weird weather that just so happened to pop up at the spa.”

“And you need me to come with you, why?” She asked.

“Because I don’t have any other leads except for checking out Baxter’s lab.” Jack admitted. “And our dead guy watched monkey porn all day and I genuinely don’t want to investigate that after spending my morning hearing about whales getting milked.”

“Well, I talked to Fargo while I was waiting on your private concert to finish.” Jo informed him. “He materialized out of nowhere to watch his American Idol rock out to the radio.”

“Jealous was he?” Jack laughed.

“Very. We all were.” She said. “Especially since Nathan really gets into singing and he’s very pretty when he’s passionate. Fargo was hoping to recruit him for his band.”

Jack rolled his eyes as they stood off to the side and waited for the weather guy to finish his emergency broadcast. “So what did Fargo have to contribute?”

“Baxter put up a live webcast of his real-time field study to pool viewer reactions to the relationship dynamics of the monkeys.” Jo informed him. 

“Why am I not surprised that there is channel for monkey reality TV?” Jack said. “Or that Fargo watches it?”

“You shut down the Carter-Stark show.” She reminded him. “That had the highest ratings of any Eureka broadcast, _ever._ People need their fix.”

“Glad I could at least be entertaining.” Jack said.

“Well you weren’t the only one being entertained. According to Fargo, Dr. Baxter was quite a hit with the ladies. A regular Casanova.” Jo said. 

“The bald dude with the thong?” Jack asked and Jo shrugged. “Really?”

“Research must have paid off.” She said. “Or maybe he was naturally that talented and just liked watching monkeys fuck. I guess I can ask Tag, he knows all the animal science people.”

"Might want to leave out the part where you got pricked by....well." Jack said and pointed to the band-aid on her finger where a icy something-that-was-not-a-finger had cut her.

She held up her finger, not the one that was injured. "Good thing it wasn't your husband's or I might be the new recipient of his super sperm."

Jack smirked as she flipped him off and smiled. He deserved that. He was glad _she_ was going to ask Taggart about the dead guy, he didn’t want any more information about Baxter’s viewing pleasures than he already had. He smiled as the Weather guy finally finished with his report and came over to greet them. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Busy! I’ve had emergency updates all day long. Snow. Hail. Winds. Incredible.” Dr. Puhlman wiped his brow and took a sip of water and then offered his hand to shake. “Pete Puhlman, meteorologist.”

“Jack Carter, Sheriff.” Jack said and was amused the guy looked like he was worn out from basically pointing at a green screen for a whole 2 minutes.

“Jo Lupo, still soaked from an _unpredictable_ thunderstorm.” Jo said and glared at him.

Jack smiled as Puhlman flinched a little as he realized she was probably mad his forecast didn’t warn her about the possibility of rain. “Yeah, so can you tell us what the hell is up with the weather?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Puhlman walked over to a virtual globe and clicked a few buttons. “This is the Cumulator 2100." 

Jack felt compelled to say something when the guy just stood there staring at them like he expected applause. “Ooooohhhh?”

“It’s the most sophisticated meteorological predictor in the industrialized world.” Puhlman said proudly and the Deputy rolled her eyes.

Once again Jack felt like he was being forced to make a comment before this dialogue could proceed. “Ahhhhhhh?”

"So what can you tell us about the weather that's already happened?" Jo asked and crossed her arms. 

“All the weather events began with a severe temperature drop last night over the hot springs, which precipitated a chain reaction of unstable pressure systems.” Puhlman said with a touch of excitement.

“All of it?” Jack asked. “Including the ultra-isolated thunderstorm that spawned over my Jeep?”

“Yes.” Puhlman replied and pressed another button. “All were caused by the initial drop in pressure. Now watch, the pressure drop began here and by the time it hit the hot spring, Insta-freeze!”

“So the freaky weather didn’t cause the freeze, the freeze caused the freaky weather?” Jack summarized. Well...that meant their problem was definitely caused by a device. Most definitely caused by GD.

“Exactly.” Puhlman said and sipped his water again.

“If the freeze started at the spa last night, how did it cause a thunderstorm today?” Jo asked.

“Weather pressure systems aren’t always a wave that comes through, sometimes they circle back around. The freeze could have also caused a pocket of unstable air or humidity.”

“A tiny isolated storm _right over_ my Jeep and only _my_ Jeep?” Jack asked. 

“Maybe you’re just lucky, Sheriff.” Puhlman said, sincerely. “Wish that could happen to me.”

“Ok, let’s get back to all the events you mentioned that were caused by this.” Jo said. 

“Still compiling damage reports but I have My StormSpotter reports on my website. We have quite a dedicated team of volunteers!” Puhlman said and went over to his computer to pull up the data.

Jack leaned over to Jo and whispered, “Why does he make it sound like he recruited the kindergarten class to be weatherspotters?”

“Because he did.” She said and rolled her eyes. “Eureka doesn’t care about _the weather_. They don’t take him seriously. If they want the forecast they make their own program or read the radar themselves. His show is basically a kid’s show. The kindergartners don’t care about it either, that’s why they’re forced to do it in order to get course credit.”

Jack nodded. “See, this is why I need you here, partner.”

“If you need me so much, next time let me in the car when there is a typhoon and a concert.” She smiled at him as they walked over to the computer and looked at all the very detailed reports about weather conditions: rain amounts, wind speed, hail size, time of start and completion and the pictures to go with it all. Everything was watermarked with some kid’s name so their work couldn’t be used without crediting them. “So where and when did this all start?”

“The origin?” Puhlman asked. “Well if you come back over here to the Cumulator 2100.”

Jack shared a look with Jo before turning around to go back over to the virtual globe. “Ooohhh.”

“Aahhhhh” Jo chimed in.

“It started right here.” Puhlman said. 

They leaned over and looked and Jack said, “Ok, so the real question is, what’s there?”

Jo pulled up the coordinates on her phone. “A cabin.”

Jack heard Puhlman clear his throat looking for a pat on the back or a thank you or maybe a Peace prize. He shook his hand and said, “Thank you for your service, sir! Could not have done this without your help, or the Cuminlator 2000.”

"Cumulator 2100." Puhlman corrected him.

"Yes." Jack nodded as Jo snickered behind him while looking up records on her phone.

“You’re welcome, Sheriff.” Puhlman replied, took a long sip of water and then with a refreshing 'Ah' winked and added, “Stay safe out there and weather aware!”

Jack nodded, that had to be his catchy motto or the cheesy line he made his little StormSpotter kids chant as they checked their rain gauges. He and Jo left quickly, having their fill of TV sets and the weather guy. “So, who does the cabin belong to?” 

“A Dr. Steven Whitticus.” Jo said as they walked out of the building. 

“Great, give me the coordinates and I’ll go check it out.” Jack said. “You head back to the office and see what you can dig up on him.”

“Will do.” She said.

Jack got in his Jeep and looked up the address to the cabin that Jo texted him and started driving in that direction. He couldn’t help but start singing Africa as it was stuck in his head, and if he was being honest, his heart. He felt like he screwed up today, like it was always his bad reactions to the sensible solution that caused problems. Nathan was bracing himself for the storm when he dropped by and he hated that he had to do that. Grated he usually made work decisions that were the basis of their conflicts, but hiring Abby sort of was a work decision. So where did he really stand on this, because Abby was going to read his face when she asked him. 

He genuinely wanted to be selfish and keep Nathan, Zoe and Eureka to himself. Hell, they had enough problems without being required to go to couples therapy with his own ex-wife or having her criticize how he was giving Zoe freedom or how Nathan spoiled her. Jo and Nathan pointed out Abby was still in love with him and he bit his tongue, she might still be in love with the _idea of him_ but he genuinely hadn’t been in love with her for a while. He felt guilty enough about that. He never quite recovered from the hurt inflicted by her cheating on him, even if he understood why she did it. He wasn’t there, he was more in love with his job, he needed to be offended enough to reignite a passion of any kind in their marriage. He slept with other people when they were separated, trying to find something to distract him. It was just sex.

Until Nathan. 

It started out as just sex, or at least he told himself that, but from the beginning there had been so much more to it. The smiles, the jokes, the laughter. The way his reservations about asking for what he liked and wanted just vanished, and he was so open, brash and honest. He felt safe, free, encouraged to explore, excited for more. He had never been met with a judgmental lift of the eyebrow, never heard anything other that ‘yes’ or maybe a better suggestion...he had never experienced sex like that in his entire life and it blew his mind. 

And he didn’t want Abby’s mere presence to make him second guess that. Or anything that he did or said with Nathan. He was so much more open with him and he knew that, to protect what he loved, he would be the one stepping back and building up defenses. That would set Nathan off or make him circle the wagons like he did today. He hated that his confident and bold husband was reduced to grovelling for an apology he didn’t need to make, just because he thought he was still ready to walk out the door. 

Ok, mind made up. He was going to talk to Abby. She’d appreciate the honesty and understand where he was coming from, knowing how hard it had been when he tried to take that desk job so he could be home more. He picked up his phone as he drove to the location of the cabin and it started ringing. Oh yes, the plot device was activated again, this time it was Jo calling to prevent him from calling Abby. Oh the irony of work keeping him from talking to her. “Go for Carter.”

_“Hey. You’ll never guess who the last person to call Baxter was on the night that he died.”_

“Steven Whitticus?”

_“No, his wife, Wendy.”_

“Baxter was field-testing Whitticus’s wife?” Jack asked, surprised. Ok....plot device was going overboard with the parrallels today.

_“Maybe Whitticus found out and you know, crime of passion? Literally Freeze-out the side piece?”_

“Yeah, you need to talk to her.”

“ _10-4_ ”

Jack hung up and was about to forgo calling Abby because Jo was going to be calling with another update soon; Jo was very to-the-point when asking questions. However, he needed to stop this all before it snowballed. Instead of calling Abby, he took a short detour and went to the Director’s house to pick her up and just take her with him to check out the cabin. They _had_ to talk.

* * *

“So you were the last person to see Neil Baxter alive last night.” Jo was very direct with her questions, and most of the time they were not questions. She didn’t have time for polite conversation and coffee when there was a suspected murder.

“Relationships are so complicated.” Wendy Whitticus said as she dabbed tears from her eyes. “I mean, I love my husband. He’s a brilliant man. It’s just that Neil gave me something I haven’t had for so long. Passion can be so powerful.”

Jo didn’t get it. She was loyal to a fault and didn’t understand infidelity at all. The fact that Carter was so honest about having some side things going with other Marshals while married to Abby kinda surprised her. He probably should be the one interviewing Wendy but, maybe that’s why he sent her. “So, you two were together last night?”

“At the cabin, until about midnight.” Wendy then added, “And then I drove home and Neil went to the hot springs. He always liked to soak after...you know.”

Jo noted she wasn’t _that upset_ about Baxter being dead. She was crying, sure, but that was just the ‘oh somebody I knew, who was just soaking off residue of our affair, just got shattered into a million frozen pieces’ cry. Baxter was just a body to her. A middle-aged, monkey’porn watching, thong wearing, ‘man of passion’ on call for some hook-ups at a cabin in the woods. Oh God...that wasn’t what she was using Taggart for... _was it?_

“Wendy! Come take a look at this!”

Jo turned as she heard the husband call out from the basement. “Mrs. Whiticus, I’m going to have to ask your husband some questions.”

Wendy stood up and started to cry more, but led Deputy Lupo down to the basement so she could tell her husband about her affair.


	90. Oh Why Rebuke You Him That Loves You So

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 90

**Oh Why Rebuke You Him That Loves You So**

* * *

“Look, I have to work, so if you want to talk you have to come with me.” Jack said and opened the door to the Jeep for Abby as he stood in the driveway at the director's house. He even backed in the driveway to open the door for her with flourish and be ultra inviting and thoughtful. “ _ See _ ? Change.”

Abby pursed her lips and nodded. “I see a lot of change.”

“Great.” Jack said and waved at the open door. “I don’t see a lot of getting in the car.”

“Because I am not the one who interrupted a tele-commute session with a client.” Abby said with a placating smile. “I have to work, so if you want to talk…maybe it should be on my terms. Which means, scheduled.”

Jack drummed his fingers on the roof of his Jeep and slammed the door. “Fine. Just remember this as a shining example of why we  _ didn’t work _ . You wanted compromise, but you never moved an inch to meet me in the middle and expected me to always come to you. Well I came to you and I'm still leaving without you.”

“You weren’t expecting me at all.” She reminded him. He reminded her of how quickly he got upset with her. He would argue and leave, this was them. “I came up early to be here and planned my sessions accordingly. You’re in the middle of a work day and so am I.”

Jack started walking around his Jeep to get back in and go inspect Whitticus's cabin. “You’re right. All I wanted to do was talk about Nathan’s offer and ask you to turn it down. I don’t think we can work together and as much as he thinks that Zoe needs us both, he has a tendency to project his own problems with his ex-wife onto me. So, I’ll call you about dinner and you, me and Zoe can get together at Cafe Diem.”

“I know, Jack. I wasn’t considering taking it. As much as I appreciate him extending the offer to me...I know it’s not right to intrude on what you have here.” She said and he looked at her over the top of his car. “I’ll help you, help with this therapist you both have suspicions about however I don’t want to live here. That doesn’t help any of us.”

Jack nodded. Good thing that was out of the way. “Did you want to pick up Zoe at school? She has rehearsal but gets out around 4 because the director only wants one full dress rehearsal before the performance and is cutting them loose early.”

“I’d like that.”

“Great. I'll text you about dinner.”

“Thanks.” She said and watched him leave. She hoped that Zoe didn’t feel the same way about her intrusion into their new lives.

Jack immediately called Jo to let her know he got sidetracked and see what info she had on Whitticus. He also needed to focus on the case and not dwell on his personal life. “Hey, I haven’t made it to the cabin yet but I was curious what the wife said.”

_ “Well, I’m down here in Dr. Whiticuss’s basement and he’s showing me the mini-climates he’s making using some kind of microwave technology.” _

“Is that Jo Code for I can’t talk about it while the husband is showing off his science fair project?” Jack asked. 

“ _ Yeah. _ ”

“So the wife was seeing Baxter?”

_ “Yup. _ ”

“Ok, I’ll be at the cabin in about five minutes. I’ll look around, look to see if there is anything like a pinata of the dead guy or maybe a diary entry that reads like 50 Shades of King Kong and get back to you.”

“ _ Stay safe and weather aware. From what I’m looking at in these giant weather mason jars in his basement, he’s got some wild stuff brewing _ .”

“Great.” Jack said and hung up. He pressed the accelerator to the floor and hurried to the cabin. If storms were about to unleash hell on Eureka, he needed answers and nothing got answers like having evidence. The cabin was also the source of the freaky weather, which was super _super_ exciting too.

* * *

“It’s supposed to be a hyper-velocity anti-missile shield array.” Nathan reminded Milton as he made an exaggerated look around the lab. Milton’s team had just presented another disaster of a prototype when asked about progress. “The Pentagon is expecting to see a supersonic projectile and a shield robbed from a Star Trek episode to back it up. Instead I have….an exploded ham sandwich and a bottle rocket embedded in the wall.”

“Dr. Stark.” Milton said and almost started crying. He stopped himself, barely. “We’re all experiencing some weird withdrawals and trying to capitalize on our hunger by working with food.”

“By making your extremely costly lab smell like bacon flavored Mountain Dew?” Nathan asked. 

“We can’t concentrate.” Milton said and ran his hand through his hair. “Maybe if we just had a little MPH to get us to the end of the project, we might be able to finish what we were working on. Without it, we’re having a hard time connecting to the notes and work we previously did. Our minds aren’t working that fast anymore.”

“The Hartwells aren’t moving into an adjacent lab and using you as lab monkeys while you work on creating a supersonic missile and powerful EM deflector shield.” Nathan reminded him. “You’re welcome to volunteer as test subjects when I fire you tomorrow for turning your lab into a roadside rest stop bathroom but not turning up to the test with any kind of usable prototype.”

“We were close!” Milton said and squeezed his head in his hands. “We just can’t focus.”

Nathan left the lab as he felt like he was one step away from watching those potential lab monkeys throw feces around their pen. He walked down the hall, got in the elevator and groaned. Oh how he wanted to just give them all the MPH they wanted along with a liability waiver, but he knew Jack would never forgive him and would consider him a drug dealer and distributor. He closed his eyes. Maybe he should just let the Pentagon Test get postponed?. He heard the elevator ding on Level 3, got out and walked past people looking to stop him for one reason or another, and checked in with Fargo’s team in his lab that hopefully did not smell like Honey-Baked Failure. “Well, Fargo? How are  _ you _ focusing on your project?”

“Great! The detox at the spa really helped my team!” Fargo said and handed Stark a tablet with designs. “We’ve come at it from another angle and I think you’ll be pleased with the results.”

Nathan flipped through them. “I need a working prototype, Fargo, by tomorrow.”

“I need access to more than the trash bin from the PX-319 monkey lab.” Fargo said.

“Done.” Nathan handed him the tablet back. “You get Milton’s lab after they’re done cleaning it up. Milton’s done with it.”

“Really!?” Fargo asked. “I get a _real_ section 5 lab?”

“Yup. Make me proud.” Nathan said and patted him on the back and left to go to his office and figure out this damned thing on his own.

“Dr. Stark?” Fargo asked as the man walked to the door and barely paused to look at him. “If I save the day, is there any chance you’d consider joining my band?”

Nathan was about to threaten him, tell him that if he didn’t deliver that he was going to be a secretary for the rest of his life, but instead he realized Fargo was the best chance he had at getting this project done. He needed another major save behind him if he was going to get the D.O.D. to listen to him about Beverly and negotiate giving Abby her job. He needed to make himself the most valuable thing GD had, by fixing every one of the damned projects Warren King had left sinking in his wake. “You have a band?”

“Me, Spencer, Vince and Taggart. The Dynamics.” Fargo nodded. “I play drums.”

“I’ll make a deal with you, Fargo.” Nathan said and watched the other two guys on Fargo’s team stop what they were doing and listen in. “I’ll record one song with your band, and only one.”

“Really?”

“In exchange, you will have to work with Milton on this project. Take over his team and make sense of their acid-trip notes and stop them from finger painting with ham glaze on the wall.”

“ _ Really!? _ ”

Nathan knew he was going to regret this next part, but he didn’t see any other options. “And I’ll help sort out this mess and leave it to you all to have a working prototype by 3pm tomorrow.”

“ _ Oh my God! _ ” Fargo exclaimed.

Nathan took off his jacket and threw it on a chair, rolled up his sleeves and grabbed a grease pen. He walked over to the board they were working on and drew a line down the middle. “I can pull in the team that maintains Eureka’s EM field and have them work with us on the shield array. We need to get this hyper velocity missile figured out."

“Oh my God, this is way better than my fantasies.” Fargo said and waved his guys over and they pulled another grease board over. “We won’t disappoint you, Dr. Stark.”

"Is this a formula for edible toothpaste gum or a recipe for a whale milk smoothie?" Nathan asked and pointed to the bottom right section of the board. Everyone seemed suddenly occupied with wiping grease boards clean and throwing papers in desk drawers. Great. So this team was also still compromised by the MPH as well. Why did he want this job back?


	91. Though She Be But Little, She Is Fierce!

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 91

**Though She Be But Little, She Is Fierce!**

* * *

  
  


“Any chance Whitticus’s WeatherMaker looks like a big scary satellite dish?” Jack asked as Jo met him at the car as he got out at the suspects house. “Because there was definitely one of those at his cabin.”

“Yeah. Based on the schematics I found on his wall, that’s exactly what it should look like.”

“Great. Maybe this can be an open and shut case. I didn’t find anything murdery at the cabin, per say, but whoever was in it last didn’t care about cleaning up after themselves. The place was a gold mine for fluids and a swing...for Tarzan and Jane to play on.” Jack said. “I’ll all the evidence off with Henry when I go check on the body. I also took a picture of a shoe impression by the satellite before another isolated thunderstorm washed it away, so it’s not admissible but we can use it in interrogation.”

“Wendy admitted to the affair with Baxter.” Jo explained. “He apparently likes to get a good soak in at the hot springs when they’re done at the cabin.”

“I can see why. That swing thing was...athletic.” Jack said and pointed to his car. “In my trunk by the way, so if something happens to me I want you to know it’s evidence and not mine.”

“I didn’t think you’d shy away from a simple toy.” She said with a laugh. “Might like it. Really moves stuff around and hits some spots.”

“Taggart has one, huh.” Jack asked and she shrugged. Those two were meant for each other. 

“Baxter has the patent. Apparently he provides _instruction_ on his device to a lot of the purchasers.” Jo said and Jack raised his eyebrows. "No, not me and not Taggart."

“This is going to be awesome if it’s really this easy.” Jack grinned. “Finally, something normal in this damned town. Jealous husband puts an end to the monkey business. Perfect motive. They didn’t even hide anything, he could have stopped in at the cabin and saw it all and just blasted Baxter back to the ice age with his satellite dish. ”

“It’s definitely premeditated if he knew Baxter went to the spa after seeing his wife.” Jo said and smiled. “This is going to be easy.”. 

“Let’s take him in for questioning.” Jack said as they walked up to the house. “We still are a little light on evidence considering the body is in pieces. Henry’s given us time of death based on the frozen watch on the guy’s wrist, but that’s not exactly concrete like lab results. ”

“Sounds good.” She said and they got the porch and she tapped her knuckles on his arm. “Hey, you maybe want to get a beer tonight?”

Jack smiled, thinking it was a celebratory ‘Hey, we got a normal crime!’ beer, but one look at her face said there was way more to it. He had dinner, and probably another conversation with Abby, but Jo deserved his evening if she wanted it. He had unloaded enough of his personal problems on her and she was really reaching out right now. “Absolutely. Come over and watch the game. I’m sure Zoe will want to stay with her Mom tonight and Nathan probably won’t be home because he has some deadline to meet tomorrow. Just us, baseball, my incredibly intrusive house, pizza she won't let me have and fresh beer on tap.”

“Sounds great.” She said and he held the door for her and she walked in the house. “Whitticus is down in the basement.”

“Why does everyone have a home lab in their basement?” Jack asked. 

“You probably would too if you didn’t live in a basement.” She said as they walked through the kitchen. 

“I’m not sure I’m ready for what happens when Nathan starts sharing his lab with my kid and they build robots and crap, I'm kinda glad it's off-site and not in the basement. Not that Nathan wouldn't still be at GD doing someone else’s project.” Jack shrugged. “It’s actually just funny to me that these people do nothing but tell me about all the great opportunities and resources they have in Eureka and then they don't have a cool lab at GD but some crowded, dark basement they work in at home.”

“Working from home has it’s appeal.” Jo said as she descended the stairs to the basement, which was crowded, dark and unimpressive. 

Jack was happy to see that the basement was just as he described. “Dr. Whitticus, what can you tell me about your…. _oh my God_ the storms are actually in big jars!”

Jo nodded as he went over to look at the little storms brewing in each jar. The jars looked like something that would be holding lemonade and iced tea at a catered event, instead they held the weather that would ruin the event. Ah, Eureka. They both had to look away as a jar lit up with contained lightning. 

“OK, so now I see how a small little thunderstorm could exist right over my car at a crime scene I was investigating.” Jack said and nodded to Jo. Open and shut case! Hallelujah! “I think I’ve seen enough. I’m going to need to take you in for questioning, Dr. Whitticus.”

The Whitticus’s both replied with “ _ What?!? _ ” 

Jack pulled out his handcuffs. “I’ll make it clearer. Dr. Whittcus, your’e under arrest for the murder of Dr. Neil Baxter.”

Steven shook his head as the Sheriff came over to cuff him. “I don’t understand.”

“Why do none of you geniuses ever understand the very basic principle of ‘thou shall not murder'?” Jack asked and the guy came over to get in his face, prompting Jo to leap into action, spin him against the wall and cuff him herself. 

“Please!” Wendy screamed. “You’re making a mistake! He can’t leave the house!”

“Right.” Jack said. “And I’d believe you since most everything can be controlled remotely around here,  _ except  _ that some one came out to the cabin last night and adjusted your weather beam satellite dish for you while you were having some private instruction on Tanzanian Monkey sex swings with Dr. Baxter.”

“What?” Steve asked as Jo smashed his face into the schematics for the satellite. “I couldn’t.”

“Couldn't what? Couldn't take it anymore? You found out that your wife and Baxter were having an affair and you froze him with a giant microwave? Then tried to destroy the crime scene with a mini thunderstorm at the spa?” Jo asked.

“As well as a thunderstorm that magically appeared to wash away the evidence outside the cabin.” Jack added. 

“And then top it off by getting in Carter’s face when he calls you on it? And what? Open up a jar of whoop-ass weather?” Jo pulled him off the wall and started shoving him towards the stairs. 

“You have it all wrong!” Steven said. “I couldn’t see him because of the weird glare on his cheek!”

“Okay! Stop!” Wendy screamed again. “He couldn’t have killed anyone and he wasn’t attacking you, Sheriff! He’s practically blind! He was just trying to get a good look at you, not attack you.”

Jack watched as Wendy took off her husband’s glasses and the guy turned around to show he had the cloudy eyes of someone with majorly impaired vision or ocular trauma. He could feel the door on the open-shut case getting slammed in his face.

“His eyes are too sensitive to leave the house, even at night.” Wendy explained. “We have special lights, filters on all the windows.”

Jo turned to Carter, not willing to give up on this so easily. It all fit together like a perfect puzzle. “He could have had an accomplice.”

“Yeah. Is there a tech hotline for evil science satellites?” Jack asked. “I mean, GD has a ton of satellites and this isn’t the first time a dish has been out of calibration. Especially when monkeys were involved. Maybe there is a satellite repair guy?”

Jo didn’t really want to be reminded of the PX-319 incident, but it was oddly similar. 

“Why would I want to kill the man who finally brought so much happiness to my wife?” Steven asked.

Jack and Jo exchanged glances and he hesitantly asked. “You knew about the affair?”

“Well my eyes may not work well, but it doesn’t mean I’m totally blind.” Steven said. “I always knew I wasn’t enough for Wendy even before the accident.”

Jack raised his eyebrows as Wendy started crying and hugging him and apologizing. Jo, uncuffed him and stepped back to confer. “So...what does that leave us with?”

“Not much.” She replied with a whisper. “Unless she got tired of Neil? Maybe he tried blackmailing her?”

“So the glasses help you see?” Jack asked, trying to get more information out of Steven so they could find another door to open. 

“Infrared Wi-Fi signal helps them augment the little bit of retinal usage that I retain.” Steven said and turned to them, holding his wife close as she cried and murmured apologies.

“So the satellite thing at the cabin, could that have caused the frost that froze the spa?” Jack asked, trying to feel out another lead to follow.

“Well, I designed it to refreeze the melting polar ice caps and to bring rain to drought plagued nations.” Whitticus shrugged. 

Jack’s mind immediately started playing Africa and he had to shake it off. Work! He had to work! He couldn't let his mind drift and come up with a music video to go with Nathan's version of the song, because that would lead to him laying naked on a stack of books like a Live Smart Eureka! version of the Toto video. Oh...well...too late for that.

“But there were calibration problems I was working to fix.” Steve said and then sadly added. “That’s what led to my accident. I decided to stop the project because it was too dangerous and I didn’t want it to harm anyone else.”

Jack really wished he could send Wendy away so they could question her husband alone, but she was clinging to him and sobbing.

“Would Wendy?” Jo asked.

Jack smiled apologetically. Apparently Jo had no qualms about asking while she was in the room.

“What possible reason would she have to want to hurt anyone?” Steven asked and hugged her tighter.

“She was at the cabin that night.” Jack informed him. “I do have a lot of evidence of that.”

“She also admitted it.” Jo added.

“And she wasn’t Baxter’s only….experiment.” Jack said and Wendy sniffled and sobbed louder. “And jealousy is a pretty powerful emotion.”

“What time did the device go off?” Steve asked.

“12:26 am, per the time frozen on Baxter’s watch.” Jack answered.

“I called her the minute I heard the frost predicted on the news.” Steve said. “She was home by midnight.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at that. “What news?”

“The 11:00 news.” Steve answered.

“With Pete Puhlman?” Jo asked. “The guy who can’t predict anything right?”

“With his Cuminlator 2000?” Jack asked. Ok, now his lewd joke actually seemed appropriate. Points for Carter!

“Yes, the weatherman.” Steve said.

“ _Meteorologist_.” Jack said in a hushed voice. “He’s pretty touchy about it, apparently his science has about as much street cred around here as ghosts do.”

“Yeah, Peter’s always been pretty touchy.” Steve said thoughtfully. “Although apparently not as touchy as Dr. Baxter.”

“So, you know him?” Jo asked. “Dr. Puhlman?”

“Yes. He was part of the dish installation team. He always craved the limelight. A nice lab in the comforts of his own dark basement was not good enough for him, he wanted to be on TV. Still, he predicted the ice storm...so maybe there is something to his ‘science’ after all.” Whitticus said.

”Yeah, he did have that one nailed, didn’t he?” Jack said and looked over at Jo. he couldn't believe it could be the satellite repair tech! Holy shit! “Maybe we should go back to the station and join his fan club.”

“I should apologize for implying he never gets anything right.” She said and put her handcuffs back on her belt as Carter jogged up the stairs with his phone out. "You two, better not leave town."

“Hey, Allison?” Jack said as she answered her phone. “Can you meet me at the TV Station? I think we’re going to need to redact someone.”


	92. My Soul Is In The Sky

_Dissolved_

Chapter 92 

**My Soul Is In The Sky**

* * *

“Hey Pete, it’s getting pretty nasty out there.” Jack said as he walked on set with Allison and Jo. “Got any good news for us?”

“Well, it’s a category-four ice storm which will reach full strength in the next few hours.” Puhlman answered from his chair as the make-up girl applied some shine control product. He thought about offering it to the Sheriff as his one cheek looked like he slept on a plate of fried chicken, however it looked like the man needed an industrial de-greaser to get rid of that mess. 

“OOOHHH!” Jo cooed.

“Ahhhh!” Jack added with jazz hands.

Allison looked at them both like they had gone nuts. Who the hell was impressed with the Weather Guy?

“This must be a weatherman’s dream.” Jack said and grinned at him.

“Wet dream.” Jo added. “Frozen wet.”

Pete realized they were mocking him. Even the Sheriff’s department lacked respect for him. He let his smile fade. “My job is to serve the community, which you should be evacuating, Sheriff because this will be a direct hit.”

“It’s amazing how accurate the hit gets when you’re mad.” Jack said.

“I know.” Puhlman replied. “I am mad that this community doesn’t take me seriously. My Cumulator Technology is very precise.”

Jo watched him get out his little remote thing and press the button to make the virtual globe materialize. “Yeah, when you predicted that ice storm last night at 11:18 we had nothing but calm skies. I mean, I laughed at you. Ice storm? Come on. I was skinny dipping in Lake Archimedes, not a care in the world.”

“Who would have thought that an hour later, you could have been ice skating on the hot springs?” Jack said with mock surprise.

“I know! If only I would have known the ice age was returning I could have packed my ice skates and really impressed my boyfriend with my triple Axel.” Jo said.

“Really?” Jack asked, genuinely surprised. “You were a figure skater?”

“No, I was a dancer who got to play ice hockey with my brothers and figured I’d goof around at practice while they were working on their shit slap shots.” She said. 

“You’re so cool” Jack said with a genuine smile. “Not as cool as Neil Baxter because, you know, he was turned into an ice sculpture and flash froze to death. But we can’t all be inspired by monkeys fucking to invent Tarzan’s sex swing and instruct the ladies of Eureka on how to go ape-shit using it.”

“True. Nobody is that _cool_ . ” Jo said and snapped her fingers. “ What wasn’t cool was that he didn’t stay weather aware and it just _shattered him to pieces_.”

“Yeah. That sucked.” Jack said. “Sucks being dead.”

“What the hell is going on?” Allison finally asked. Since when were Jack and Jo such a good team?

“Oh, Pete?” Jack said. “You want to predict where this is going?”

“Well, Dr. Baxter’s death was tragic.” Puhlman said and stood up as the make-up lady finished. “If only he’d seen my forecast, maybe it could have been prevented.”

“Or, maybe…” Jack said and winked at Pete. “It could have been prevented if someone didn’t turn on the weather dish death machine while he was soaking his sore body in the hot, fission powered waters, at the grotto.”

“Are you referring to Dr. Whitticus’s Climate Dish Array?” Puhlman asked.

“That's probably the official name for it, so yes.” Jack said.

“You think _that_ caused this?”

“Pretty sure.” Jack said and pointed at the globe thing. “The Cuminlator 2000 pinpointed his cabin as the origin of the weather phenomenon, right?”

“It’s the Cumulator 2100.” Puhlman growled.

“Good thing for you Mrs. Whitticus Cumin-Sooner-than-Later or they would have caught you at the cabin tampering with it.” Jo said. 

“Listen, I wouldn’t go near that thing, It’s dangerous.” Puhlman said. “I warned him. I warned Steven that it was reckless to continue his research. Honestly that thing should be destroyed.”

“ _It tried_ to destroy the evidence that was left behind.” Jack said and pulled out his phone and showed him the picture he took of footprints. “Tried, but I got a picture just in time.”

“That would be a relief to you if it was destroyed, wouldn’t it?” Jo asked while Weatherman Pete fidgeted and shifted his weight from one foot to another. Feet wearing dress shoes that would probably match the prints left behind at the cabin. 

“Why would I…”

“Because if Whitticus could control the weather, then there isn’t much need for a weatherman, is there?” Jack filled in the blank in the motive column.

“I had nothing to do with this.”

“You started the storms so you could be a hero.” Jack said. “And Whitticus’s research could be shut down for good, especially when his little thunderstorms targeted the local Sheriff who happens to be married to the protective Director of Global Dynamics.”

“You can’t prove that.”

Jack showed him the shoe impression picture again. “Actually I can. It’s funny that there was so little tread on those shoes, now who would wear dress shoes to tramp around the woods at night?”

“Your husband.” Jo answered.

“True.” Jack said and showed her and then Allison his phone. “These aren’t size 12. They’re much smaller.”

“What size do you wear, Pete?” Jo asked. “Maybe you can sit back down and let us take some samples off your tread to rule you out as a suspect?”

“Or maybe you can save us the trouble and help us stop this thing.” Allison said. 

“I didn’t want you to cut him a deal!” Jack exclaimed, knowing that tone. “I wanted him redacted! What is wrong with you people! Do you hold nobody accountable? You don’t even like this guy or his so-called science!”

“Think about the commercial applications.” Allison said and waved at the virtual globe weather prediction station. "News is a big business and weather is unpredicatbale. If a station had the most accurate weather, they'd gain market share."

“For what? The Globe Theatre there?” Jack asked. 

“Yes.” She said. “So what will it be, Dr. Puhlman? Redaction or…having your weather technology broadcasted into every home in America?”

"Oh, like that went so well with the paranoia beam last week." Jack said with a huff. Geniuses, but not a damned one learned anything!

“I never…” Puhlman stammered and they all looked at him like they saw right through him. “I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“Nobody around here ever thinks their _death machine_ will actually hurt anyone.” Jack rolled his eyes. Great. Open and shut case, shut and then an escape door opened. _Great_. He called Allison hoping she would be less inclined to offer a deal than Nathan, but that backfired.

“I mean, I didn’t know that Wendy and Baxter were out there.” Puhlman said.

“Wendy, huh?” Jo asked.

“He’s always been _pretty touchy_.” Jack repeated Steven’s words. 

“Oh come on, Wendy.” Jo mumbled. "

“She did. _A lot._ ” Jack mumbled back. "Whole trunk of samples!"

"Says the man married to humanities greatest sperm donor." Jo pointed out.

"Touche." Jack said and looked back at Pete who was not handling not being the center of attention well. "Sorry, you were saying?"

“I’m not a killer, Sheriff.” Puhlman said. “Wendy and I were only a thing during that satellite installation and then she moved on to someone more...predictable..”

“Still sounds like motive for murder.” Jo had to admit. 

“I didn’t kill Baxter. I might have had a thing with Wendy but it ended when I found out she didn’t take my work seriously.”

“Oh.” Jo said. So the ‘predictable’ meant he wasn’t Cumin-now-or-later.

“Yeah. I’m not a machine, I can’t just produce the thunder of passion without some kind of connection.” Puhlman said. “I’m so tired of nobody taking me seriously in this town.”

Jack watched the guy bend over and look at his feet and maybe his own crotch. He wasn’t sure he wanted to read into it too much. 

“I mean, it works. My technology is the vanguard.”

Jack didn’t know what he was talking about anymore. He really _did_ get off on the weather, it seemed. “Look, it’s not going to matter if this storm wipes out the town.”

“And we only have a few hours to save it.” Allison reminded him. “Your service to the community would be considered in your review of your job and weigh heavily in your favor if you save the town from being obliterated.”

Puhlman looked over as his Cumulator 2100 began beeping with several alarms. “Ok, make that one hour until annihilation.”


	93. The Lunatic, The Lover, and The Poet, Are Of Imagination All Compact

_Dissolved_

Chapter 93 

**The Lunatic, The Lover, and The Poet, Are Of Imagination All Compact**

* * *

“It’s been building since last night. It’s an incredibly dangerous confluence of meteorological events.” Steve Whitticus said as he showed everyone the monitor in his basement.

“Perfect Storm.” Nathan summarized as Jack looked at him confused.

“Thank you.” Jack said and was glad Nathan took a break from his massive project to come help save the town. He missed him.

“A spinning cyclone of instability high up in the cryosphere.” Whitticus continued.

“Ice funnel of death.” Henry chirped.

Jack smiled at him. It was good to have Henry here too, because this was their Super Save The World Team and nothing was going to best them! “Thank you. You could just say ‘Ice funnel of death’.”

“That doesn’t quite carry the true level of doom and dread that is upon us.” Whitticus said. "We are very probably going to all die."

“How is this happening so far from the ocean?” Nathan asked.

“Lake Archimedes.” Whitticus answered.

“What were _you doing_ out there last night?” Jack whispered to Jo and she slapped him in the stomach for the implication she started this. 

Whittius continued, “Because of all the volatility in the area, it’s providing enough cold moisture for the storm to brew, and it’s happening fast. This is tomorrow.”

Everyone raised their eyebrows as Whitticus brought up the radar image of a huge hurricane. A hurricane with ice. Nathan whistled. “Well, I guess the good news is that I won’t have to worry about missing my deadline tomorrow as we simply won’t be here anymore.”

“There’s no way to stop it?” Jack asked, annoyed how everyone just accepted death at the hands of science like it was a foregone conclusion. 

“Well, warm tropical currents could counteract an event like this, but we’re nowhere near an El Nino.” Whitticus said.

“Alright, we might have to evacuate the town.” Nathan said and stood up from the desk he was semi-sitting on.

“No. there’s no time.” Jack said. “We’ll end up with a bunch more frozen Baxters.”

“We could head underground but may not have the tools needed to break through that much ice on top of fallout shelters and even GD.” Nathan explained. “Evacuation it is.”

“Look, all we need is warm water, right?” Jack said. “If the dish thingee could freeze a hot spring, can it heat up a lake?”

“Theoretically, it could, but it doesn’t have the range.” Whitticus replied.

“Presumably it’s connected to a main frame somewhere in the cabin.” Henry said as he looked at the schematics.

“Yeah. It’s attached under the house. It heats the house. It’s an environmentally conscious design.” Whitticus said proudly.

“That’s it.” Jack pointed to the deadly weather machine drawings. “The lake is the water source for the hot springs, right?”

“Linked to the reactor by an underwater aquifer.” Nathan added.

“So crank up the juice at GD.” Jack said simply. “Get some steam going.”

“Someone is going to have to manually calibrate the machine.” Whitticus said.

“The machine that blinded you while you were calibrating it.” Jack clarified.

“Yes.”

“Super. OK, walk me through it over the phone. I don't have much time to get over there before this storm hits.” Jack said and gave Nathan a kiss before he ran up the stairs and out of the basement.

“Dammit.” Nathan said and ran after him and hollered. “You’re not going without me.”

“I can turn knobs and push buttons!” Jack said as he quickly walked through the house and to the front door. “I can’t save the world and I don’t have a PhD in fission powered water heaters so I can’t boil the lake with the thermostat at GD. So, yes, I have to go without you.”

“Henry is more than capable of doing that.” Nathan kept chasing him and ran to Jack’s Jeep with him as the rain began coming down harder. “I am not capable of doing much of anything without _you_ so I am coming with you.”

“Well, nothing says certain death like you insisting you come with me.” Jack said as he got in his Jeep and Nathan jumped in the back seat to avoid him taking off without him. 

“It’s not looking promising.” Nathan said as Jack put on the sirens and took off. “So, how was your day?”

“Highlight was you singing to me but I’m thinking you might be too powerful with blessing the rains.”

“Well, I might have to reassess my agreement to record my version of it with Fargo’s band if that’s the case.”

“You’re going to record it…. _with Fargo’s band_?" Jack laughed as he drove through a deluge. “I don’t even know what to make of that sentence.” 

“I am a little desperate to get this anti-missile shield array off the ground.” Nathan said and leaned on the passenger seat so he could be closer to Jack and pretend to watch where they were going. He had no idea how Jack was driving so fast in such poor visibility and they hadn’t died yet.

“I know this is going to sound stupid, but considering I’m the village idiot, I have to say it.” Jack took a turn towards the cabin and slowed down just enough to not hydroplane. “If it’s an _array_ you want and it’s a Climate Dish _Array_ that the crazy weather machine is, can you just use it to shoot down missiles? I mean, if this situation has taught us anything, it's that there is weather waiting to kill you everywhere, so why not aim it at missiles and shoot it down with ice and thunder and lightning?”

Nathan narrowed his eyes at him and thought about it.

“You were supposed to laugh.” Jack informed him as he dealt with the silence of shame. “If I’m going to die, I’d at least like to hear you laugh one last time.”

“Ahahaha.” Nathan said, disbelieving the simple solution Jack had to his enormous problem as he opened up his phone. “You fucking genius.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Just drive and don’t kill us. I have a field test to put on for the Pentagon tomorrow at 3.”

“Are you…” Jack turned to look at him as he got on the phone. He got his face pushed back for his effort.

“Watch the road and hopefully this hurricane is powerful enough to wash that whale milk off your face.” Nathan said and got comfortable in the back seat after wiping his hand off on the seat fabric. He pulled out his phone and as soon as it picked up he snapped, “Fargo!”

“ _Dr. Stark? Are you...flushing the toilet?”_

“No, I'm in the middle of the ice hurricane that is going to wipe Eureka off the map and the 1994 Jeep Cherokee is not a quiet and luxurious ride to begin with.” Nathan replied. “I need you to get your team together and get over to Steven Whitticus’s house. We’re going to use his Climate Dish Array to make projectiles out of the atmosphere and use the weather as a weapon and defense. Scrap the rest of our ideas, this is the one that works and is already working. Just...don’t do anything until we stop the world from ending by boiling Lake Archimedes.”

_“Yes sir!_ ”

Nathan hung up and Jack looked at him in the rearview mirror. “Thanks, dear.”

“Anytime.” Jack said and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “So, does that mean you’ll be home for dinner?”

“Nope. Still have a ton of work to do and I will be lucky if we don’t accidentally restart this weather fiasco tonight trying to rework this project.”

“OK, well in case you want a break, I’m going to have dinner with Abby and Zoe at Cafe Diem.”

“I really don’t think I have time for that, Jack. I’m sorry. I really don't want to miss her play so I'll unfortunately have to skip dinner.”

“I told Abby I didn’t want her to take the job you offered her.” Jack informed him and looked up to see Nathan was surprised by that. “I mean, since there is a high probability of us dying in a few minutes trying to save the world I want you to know that I lied. I said I was OK with it but I wasn’t. I want to be selfish and keep you all to myself.”

“Well, I’m glad. Last thing I wanted was you sacrificing your happiness because you didn’t think you deserved to be selfish.” Nathan smiled. "And I appreciate you getting that off your chest while we drive to sacrifice ourselves to the Weather Gods in order to save Eureka."

“I'm not done. I realized when I talked to her that I might have been selfish with my actions during our marriage, but she wasn’t any better. I keep telling her that I changed but I didn’t change anything to be with you, I just became who I really was. If that makes sense?"

“It does. I’ve always felt like I became someone else, someone Ally expected to be her husband, when I got married. I thought I could change into a husband for her, but it never happened. It’s been natural with you because I didn’t have to change who I was. I have to change some bad habits, but that’s not lying to myself and my wife about who I am.”

“Yeah” Jack said as Nathan summed it up better than he had. “I”m changing stuff I do, but not because it’s the only way we can be happy. I’m adapting to our new life here and it’s challenging, but every second I spend with you is just...like I’m free of these ideas I had of what I was supposed to be. Like, I’m truly me.”

“Me too.”

Jack looked up as Nathan’s phone rang. “Back to work.”

“Henry?” Nathan answered. “Where are we at?

“ _850 degrees Celsius. Where are you at?_ ”

“Not at the cabin yet.” Nathan replied.

“Almost” Jack said as his phone rang. “Go for Carter.”

_“Are you there yet?_ ” Steve Whitticus asked.

“Give me a minute.” Jack said. 

_“You don’t have a minute. Inside the main control panel of the dish array is the override switch. You need to manually aim the dish at the lake to get it to flash boil the water.”_

“I get that, but that doesn’t make me drive faster nor the cabin move closer to me!” Jack yelled.

“I should have drove.” Nathan chimed in.

Jack handed him his phone and floored it. They arrived at the cabin, he stopped, engaged his new 4WD and drove into the backyard to get to the dish quicker. “OK, we’re here.”

_“If the lake evaporates too slowly we only strengthen the hurricane._ ” Whitticus reminded them.

”No pressure.” Jack said as he listened in to the conversation on speakerphone as Nathan held it out for him.

_“The timing is critical, you need to activate the dish when we reach 1,000 degrees Celsius to hit the flash-boil point.”_ Whitticus continued.

“Alright.” Jack said and took his phone back. “Let’s make a run for it, one...two….Go!”

Together they ran to the satellite dish and Nathan helped Jack open the side panel. The wind was fierce, rain was blowing sideways and was occasionally mixing with sleet. He had to yell so Jack could hear him. “This is the override.”

“Where do we aim it?” Jack screamed over the winds and rain.

“ _You need to dial it to 60 degrees to the Northeast.”_ Whitticus instructed.

_“We’re at 975 degrees!”_ Henry informed Nathan.

“Got it!” Jack said as he got hit in the face with rain and then blown backwards by a powerful gust of wind, Nathan grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him back to the dish.

“Got you.” Nathan said, barely able to see because of the rain beating down on them but still able to see Jack’s form beside him.

_“Almost there!”_ Henry yelled.

Jack got ready to hit the button but another gust of powerful wind and rain hit him and Nathan and blew them away from the dish. It was like nature turned on a powerwasher and they were the bugs splattered on the window it was trying to get rid of. “Hold on!”

Nathan reached for the dish base as Jack scrambled to his feet and fell again. He made one final push to grab the machine by the panel opening. One hand grabbed it tightly as the other reached out for Jack. “Give me your hand!”

“Hit the button!” Jack screamed and got blown over backwards and slammed into an ornamental tree that was being torn out of the ground by it's roots. 

_“We’re at 1000 degrees!_ ” Henry yelled. _“Do it now!_ ”

_“Press the button, Sheriff!”_ Steve hollered.

“I’m trying!” Jack screamed. 

“Take my damned hand!” Nathan yelled.

“Save the damned world, idiot!” Jack hollered back and dug into the ground, fingers clawing at mud and grass and toes kicking into the ground to give him something to push against. 

“Can’t reach!” Nathan hollered and showed he couldn’t stretch that far while holding on and being blown sideways. “Give me your hand!”

Jack made a desperate leap to grab at his outstretched hand and missed, grabbing his leg instead. He had to climbing up him until he reached the panel.

_“How hard is it to push a button?”_ Henry yelled.

“You want to do it?” Nathan yelled back as Jack pulled himself up his body, wrapping his legs around him and finally shoving up to the panel and slapping the button.

They waited, soaking wet and beaten by rain, sleet and ice as they were whipped around like rags. Nathan's hand began to slip but Jack's grabbed onto the panel opening beside it. He'd catch him if he couldn't hold on anymore. Shingles flew off the cabin as the weather death machine vibrated and redirected it’s beam at the lake. Then a ‘pew’ and a flash of light told them it was fired. Jack let go of the panel with one of his hands so he could drop back down to hug Nathan, hold him tight as these might be their last seconds together and he wasn’t going to let go of him now, or ever. Nathan held on to the machine, now with more purpose because if he let go they would both be carried away.


	94. Are You Sure, That We Are Awake?

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 94

**Are You Sure, That We Are Awake?**

* * *

_ “We did it!” _

_ “It worked!” _

_ “Nathan?” _

_ “Sheriff!?” _

_ “Nathan, say something!” _

_ “Sheriff? Are you still out there?” _

Jack tilted his head down as the wind died down and Nathan looked up at him, soaked dark curls plastered to his face. He lifted his phone to his ear and said, “Yeah, we’re alive. We’re also taking a lunch.” 

Nathan tossed his phone aside and Jack did the same. He reached up and kissed his husband, thin blond hair matted down and that damned whale milk residue still on his cheek despite a hurricane beating against it relentlessly. “Looks like we get more time together.”

“Looks like you’re in a soaking wet suit, again, and should strip down and let it dry.” Jack said and kissed his wet face and smiled. “How do you look so fucking good drenched?”

“Nothing like getting caught in the rain and having to use a cabin you stumbled upon to dry out. Sounds like some story from the Oregon trail.” Nathan said, rolled over, and laid there in the grass, every inch of him soaked from the hurricane they just lived through. Jack was on top of him, smiling.

“Can we do this on our honeymoon?” Jack asked. “Go to some cabin in the woods and throw away the phones?”

“I’d love that.” Nathan smiled. “Right now I’d love to get your clothes off and get a fire started and warm you up in front of it.”

“Shame I took down the monkey sex swing for evidence.”

“ _ The what _ ?”

* * *

“Did you go home and get changed?” Abby asked as Jack finally arrived, a little late, for dinner.

“Got caught out in the rain.” Jack explained and sat down at a booth at Cafe Diem and noticed how happy Zoe looked. She also noticed he was glowing as she smirked at him. Abby seemed oblivious though.

“So, I hate surprises.” Zoe led off with that but then added, “But as far as surprises go this was a really nice one. Thanks, Dad.”

“We’re really proud of you.” Jack said and smiled at her. “I know how much it means to you to have your whole family together and this is definitely an occasion for it.”

“Thanks.” Zoe said and looked up as Vincent came to the table with their order.

“My special double-yolk quail egg omelet with Estonian caviar and basil grafted from an Italian monastery.” Vincent placed the plates in front of Abby and Zoe with care. 

“Oh my God, is that truffle oil?” Abby said as the smells of the gourmet food wafted to her nostrils.

“Yes!” Vincent said. “Another refined palate! Thank God! The last time I served it to him he asked for ketchup!”

“And I’ll be even more excited to see a burger I can put ketchup on.” Jack said with a smile.

“Will Dr. Stark be joining you as well?” Vince asked.

“No, he’s working on the deadly defense ice machine array thing.” Jack said. He didn’t have to worry about keeping things confidential, nobody understood his labels anyway. “I’d like to send him dinner though, if you don’t mind? Whatever the special is.”

“Not going to take it to him yourself?” Vincent asked.

“No, I’m ‘distracting’ and already cost him precious project time by insisting on ‘lunch’.” Jack shrugged. “Plus, Jo and I have a ballgame to watch tonight. So...snacks to go too? And a pizza with half extra cheese and half whatever she usually gets?”

“Coming right up, Sheriff.”

Jack nodded as Vince left and looked across the table at Zoe. “I assumed you wanted to stay with your Mom while she was in town.”

“You’re the best!” Zoe said and then her smile faded. “Why are you being so nice?”

“Why do you ask it like that? You make me sound like I keep you locked in the basement and force you to do college level chemistry homework.” Jack leaned on the table. “Oh, that’s right. I do.”

“So you’re just being Father of the Year, why?”

“Now you’re just being mean.” 

“Fine. So no reason for this other than to share my success with Mom?”

“Yeah honey, I thought I’d butter you up with quail eggs and caviar to tell you your Mom and I aren’t getting back together.” Jack said and Abby found that amusing. 

“So this is about custody?”

“What?” Jack asked.

“You never did tell me what the deal was to keep me here?” Zoe reminded him. “I know you two. I know there had to be a deal.”

“I guess we didn’t exactly talk about it.” Abby admitted. “I didn’t think either of you were going to stay.”

“Well, looks like we know who you take after.” Jack said and raised his eyebrows at Zoe. “Me! Maybe you want to bring me to career day at school, huh?”

“So, I can stay right?” Zoe asked, ignoring him. “This isn’t about taking me back to L.A., is it?”

“No.” Jack said emphatically. “Your Mom and I need to figure out the details but I think we can agree that if you’re keeping up your grades and not running away that we need to keep that going. Right, Abby?”

“Yeah.” She said and it hurt to say it but Zoe was happy. She had talked non-stop about how great Eureka was and how amazing Jack and Nathan were together. 

“Maybe your Mom can take you to get your learner’s permit.” Jack said as his burger arrived and he immediately dug into the french fries.

“Might want to cut back on the fried foods, Sheriff.” Vincent whispered and pointed to his cheek. “It’s not good for your complexion.”

Jack rolled his eyes as he made a show of munching on the delicious french fry. “That’s whale milk.”

“That’s  _ not _ a cosmetic.” Vincent said and nudged him and winked. “Besides, you have a natural glow thanks to Dr. Stark and we all thank you  _ very much _ for bringing out his artistic side. We all like this Nathan Stark way better than the one we had before.”

“Taggart squirted me in the face while he was demonstrating underwater breastfeeding of my husband’s sperm.” Jack explained and Vince accepted that as a good answer but Abby, looked mortified. “I guess I can take credit for him singing with your band, although he’s really just using you to get  _ Africa _ recorded for me.”

“We are more than happy to be used like that.” Vince smiled. “It’s like a dream come true.”

“Any chance there is going to be a music video?” Jack asked. 

“Oh, hell yes.”

“Can I suggest filming it in Dr. Whitticus’s basement, because that might have been where Toto filmed the original weird music video.” Jack said and then added. “Oooh, and use WeatherMan Pete’s Cuminlator 2000 for the globe that spins in the beginning of the video. And have Nathan do his naked Live Smart Eureka calendar centerfold pose on a stack of books, with like marine biology texts and water heater repair manuals and every other PhD he has. And...”

Vince nodded. “All great ideas, but Putnam has already been contracted to do the video and he doesn’t take suggestions.”

Jack pouted and Vince left, leaving him with Abby who was staring at him with her mouth hanging open and his daughter who just smiled and winked because she must have wormed her way into working on the Africa by Stark project. He loved that kid! He grinned at Abby. “So, Eureka’s different.”

“I see that.” Abby went back to eating her omelet. “You’ve made yourself quite a home here in less than two weeks.”

“Back to my learners permit.” Zoe said. “ I only have two days to get that since I doubt the DMV is open on weekends and Mom probably brought my paperwork with her and won’t trust you to keep it safe. So it all needs done tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I found out where you have to go to get it and you just need to go with a parent or guardian and file the paperwork.” Jack said and took a huge bite of burger and left the details out.

“Of course I’ll take you!” Abby said and Zoe bubbled with joy. “Where do we need to go and are you the one teaching her, Jack? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“The Eureka County DMV is across the street.” Jack answered. “And Nathan’s teaching her.”

“Across the street?” Zoe asked. “Is this a joke because I made you feel bad about not realizing the Gym is right down the street from your office? Because it’s not funny.”

“Didn’t Nathan just wreck his car?” Abby asked.

“The Sheriff’s Office is also the DMV and yes, Nathan’s car was the victim of a speeding, drug addict and it wasn’t his fault.” Jack finished chewing and left out the part where it was Zoe's boyfriend's fault. “Zoe asked him, and I respect her decision.”

“So, since you’re the Sheriff...” Zoe said and played with her napkin.

“Conflict of interest.” Jack chirped. “You go through Deputy Lupo for your permit and for your driver’s exam.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Jack laughed. “You think I’m judgey, wait till you find out how not lenient she is with protocol and rules. Good luck!”


	95. Forging Friendships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, got a little busy. I will get to those comments soon!!! Thank you so much for sticking with me and commenting on these updates, that means so much!!

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 95

**Forging Friendships**

* * *

“It’s the top of the seventh inning,” Jack said and finished off his beer. “How long are you going to put off talking about what’s bothering you?”

Jo toyed with her wine glass, happy that Nathan seemed to have better taste in alcohol than Jack did. They had been eating pizza and talking about the designated hitter rule for about an hour and she wasn’t avoiding talking, she genuinely was enjoying Jack’s companionship. It had been a while since Eureka had anyone ‘normal’ to hang out with. “It’s about Taggart.”

“I’ve talked about my marriage enough to make it pretty clear I don’t mind talking about relationships.” Jack smiled at her. “And these past two weeks have been about two years of drama wrapped in one.”

“About two seasons of a sci-fi show’s worth of science problems too.” Jo noted. “I wonder if that has anything to do with the two of you being in Eureka? We had our GD issues, but nothing like the rapid fire of world-ending incidences like the last three weeks.”

“I think people simultaneously want to impress Nathan and suppress his need to fire them for lack of production.” Jack shrugged. “I think I allow GD to cover-up less. I also would like a break from all this so I can install water in my bathroom and maybe unpack my shit.”

“Whatever it is, the two of you have been the catalyst for an explosion of problems.”

“Including...Taggart?” Jack asked as she tried to avoid talking about it. “Is this about Neil Baxter being Eureka’s Casanova or Wendy Whitticus’s love shack complete with Baxter’s sex toys?”

“Yeah, this case made me question things.” She admitted. “I’m the one who interviewed her and I saw from how she reacted to Baxter’s death. She was just using the guy for the 'passion' her marriage lacked. Her husband really loved her enough to be OK with her shacking up with some monkey porn guy. That's just fucked up.”

“Baxter was more than likely happy with that.” Jack then thoughtfully added. "And it's amazing what you'll do for the person you love."

“Still...I don’t understand being able to sneak out to your cabin and enjoy a romp, then go home to your husband like nothing happened." Jo replied and closed her eyes. "I don’t want to be using Tag like that.”

“You’re married?” Jack asked and smirked.

“You know what I mean.” Jo said and opened her eyes again. "I'm not cheating on anyone, but maybe cheating him because he wants more?"

“I slept with other people, when I was sill technically married. Filing for separation just made things legally acceptable in my mind.” Jack said and she looked guilty for judging him. “Yeah, Abby and I both did. We separated a few times and always came back together because we couldn’t do that to Zoe. Her behavior got worse when we separated so we would come back together and I honestly don’t know if we would have just been better off calling it quits earlier so she could have had less baggage. Anyhow, I honestly saw it as an activity and stress relief too. It wasn't anything more than that, I wasn't looking for a relationship. I wasn’t offended until Abby kept seeing someone while we were ‘married but working on it’. I’m not the best one to ask. Nathan’s way more loyal and dedicated in that department, he had to be divorced from Allison before we did anything.”

“Oh.” Jo said. 

“Yeah, who would have thought the morally gray scientist who loves taking off his clothes would have such a strict code when it came to relationships?” Jack snorted. “Or that I would be willing to dabble in the gray area when my professional life requires me to see it all in black and white. I guess we all have to rebel against ourselves somewhere.”

“I don’t have the best record with relationships.” She said. “I have a tendency to make it about sex and bail when it gets serious. Tag has shared a lot with me, like he’s opened up the door to his passion and his life and welcomed me in. This case, made me realize I might be treating him like Wendy treated Baxter and he’s too good for that. So...I don’t know what I’m asking.”

“We’re just talking.” Jack shrugged. "You're not asking for judgement. Just talking it out."

“Having a girl talk?”

“Having a guy talk.” Jack replied and she relaxed a little. “I get it. The high risk job, not knowing if you’ll come home. Having a job, soldier or Marshal, means you might have to leave and be away a while and you don’t want to hurt people you love. Abby’s pretty convinced that’s why I was having issues with Nathan, because I am trying to keep him safe so I was trying to force him out of my life.”

“But we’re in Eureka.” Jo said. “And as long as I want this assignment I’m not in danger of being deployed. As long as you want your job, you’re not going anywhere.”

“You can’t just turn off that kind of protection, it’s ingrained in us because of our careers.” Jack nudged her. “However, none of that has to do with whether or not Taggart is someone you want to get involved with in a more dedicated relationship. So? What's the problem?”

“He’s older than me.” She said. “A lot.”

“Does that bother you or do you think it will bother other people?”

“It doesn’t bother me.” She said. "I Just don't like being under the microscope and he really wants to have a public date."

“Then fuck ‘em.” Jack said and she raised her eyebrows. “I was the shitshow when I got here and then I gave them all something to set their standards by. Fuck what they think, follow your heart and just be happy. You like him, go for it.”

“He wants to have dinner before movie night tomorrow.” She informed him.

“It’s noir night.” Jack reminded her. “I’m sure  _ someone _ is going to call in some gunshots they heard coming from Spencer’s trailer. Probably should plan on dinner and a movie.”

“Yeah.” She said. “I just don’t know if I’m really ready to get back out there.”

“I never thought I would, I really thought Abby and I would tough it out until Zoe left for college...but it just happened. And it felt right. Jo, you got great instincts, you need to follow them. Go for it.” Jack said. “You deserve to be happy and if he makes you happy then that’s all that matters. You’re not gun shy, by any means, so pull the trigger and do it.”

She cocked her head and he gave her an encouraging pat on the leg. “You’re not too bad at the inspirational speeches.”

“Nathan’s made me a believer in love again and I made the mistake of getting scared and second guessing it all and I don’t want you to make those mistakes too.” Jack said. “I owe you that much for the support you’ve given me for the past two weeks even though you really had every right to not like me. If you're not ready for the big date at Cafe Diem, tell him. Be selfish, keep him to yourself. Don't let this town put pressure on you before you're ready.”

"Thanks partner."

"Definitely don't let him use whale milk on anything either, that's really hard to get off." Jack said and that got a playful punch. 


	96. Coming Home Late

_Dissolved_

Chapter 96

**Coming Home Late**

* * *

Nathan finally made it home around 2 am and wasn’t surprised to find Jack had fallen asleep on the couch, nor was he surprised when the hiss of the pneumatic door woke him up. Jack was such a light sleeper, more so now that they had two unwanted visitors in the super safe bunker since moving in last week. “It’s just me.”

“Sorry Sheriff.” S.A.R.A.H. whispered. “I tried to be quiet.”

“It’s OK.” Jack sat up and rubbed his face as a few lights came on and S.A.R.A.H. kept them as dim as possible. He watched Nathan walk to the table and place his things on it and then come over to him. “No dream can compete with this. I'll never complain.”

Nathan kissed him and took his hands in his. “Come to bed.”

“I thought you were going to work all night?” Jack asked as Nathan pulled him off the couch to usher him upstairs. 

“I need some sleep before dealing with Pentagon personnel tomorrow.” Nathan explained and guided Jack towards the stairs with his hands on his hips. He kissed his neck as they walked to the stairs. “We also worked out how to utilize an existing system for our needs so everyone got a bit of a break and will start fresh in the morning.”

“Aren’t you the considerate boss?”

“Speaking of considerate, I appreciated you sending me dinner.”

“Appreciated but not eaten, I’m sure.”

“The SPH has made Milton’s team extremely hungry and they divided it among themselves.” Nathan said and helped Jack up the stairs even though he didn’t need it. “I’m looking forward to enjoying a few hours of sleep with you.”

“You’re not getting sleep if you keep your hands on my hips like that.”

“I’m exhausted and almost died in an ice hurricane today, I’m ready for bed.” Nathan said as they made it to the top of the stairs and he let go of Jack so he could start stripping off his own clothes and crawl into bed.

Jack flopped on the bed in his clothes and mumbled. “Me too.”

Nathan rolled his eyes as Jack apparently was going to be content to just sleep in a t-shirt and jeans. He stopped what he was doing to go and un-pant his husband before he fell asleep again. Satisfied he was properly undressed, he continued to strip himself and got into bed. “Come up here.”

“Make me.”

Nathan sat up, grabbed him by the underarms and dragged him up to lay beside him before falling back on his pillow. Jack instantly hugged his body and spooned against him. “How did dinner go?”

“I’m pretty sure Abby is going to be pissed at me for speaking for both of us and telling Zoe she can stay in Eureka.”

“Making decisions for someone else about moving to Eureka without asking them?” Nathan asked with his sarcastic drawl. “Who do you think you are?”

“Might have to change my last name to Stark, after all.” Jack mumbled and nuzzled him. Naked Nathan was a nice feeling on his whale milk free cheek. 

“OK, maybe I am in the mood for sex.”

Jack smiled and rubbed Nathan’s chest with his hand. “Jack Stark just sounds weird. Like a cartoon character.”

“Well, we can’t have something you say _sound weird_.”

Oh Nathan was ultra sarcastic tonight. Pent up sarcasm from being nice to people, probably. Jack licked his lips. “Nathan Carter.”

“Not much better.”

“Guess we can save ourselves from _that_ paperwork.”

“Why? You’re not planning on signing _any_ important paperwork soon.”

“True.” Jack moaned with relief as Nathan rubbed his shoulders. “Even though that spa sounds like a great place to get massaged and flash frozen, I’d rather your expert hands be what rubs my naked body.”

“Oh, well played.”

“You like that?” Jack groaned. Oh he knew exactly the spot to rub too. 

“I do. I like keeping your moans to myself.” Nathan admitted. 

“How many PhDs and _you’re_ going to be giving the Sheriff backrubs?” Jack asked and rubbed Nathan's abs.

“Maybe we’ll get a break this next week and I'll do just that.” Nathan closed his eyes. He really wanted a break from all these challenges Eureka was throwing at them. “If I follow up with another delivery on an overdue project, I might get off the D.O.D.’s radar for a little while.”

“Jo said it’s our fault everything is blowing up or trying to kill us.”

“Statistically it looks like it. Numbers don’t lie.”

“So lay off the threat of layoffs?” Jack suggested.

“So I can get a week or two of peace with my husband so we’re not too busy to remember all our marital problems?”

“I remember you skip meals and are too skinny.” Jack mumbled and kissed his chest. “I remember how much I love you and I don’t want to lose you so we’ll work it out.”

“Two weeks of holding off on reviews to start planning our wedding then?”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“We need to start planning. I don’t know what you want.”

“You.”

“Well you already have that, so let’s talk about food and cake, venue, theme…”

“Theme?” Jack mumbled. “Isn’t a wedding it’s own theme?”

“No.”

“Yeah, you know more. You should plan it all.”

“I want to know what _you_ want.” Nathan repeated.

“You.”

“Nevermind, go to sleep and I’ll discuss options with you when I have pictures.”

“I love that option.”

“Sleep?”

“Yes.” 

“Goodnight, Jack.”

“Night, Nathan….” Jack mumbled. “Nathaniel Carter.”

“Johnathan Stark.”

“We sound like explorers.” Jack yawned. “Or old west US Marshals.” 

“Go to bed.” Nathan said and smiled as Jack squeezed him harder and was almost instantly asleep. He loved their nonsense bedtime talks, and it helped his mind shut down from the day as whatever odd topic Jack would talk about would allow him to switch his mind off from work to alternate universe fantasy narrative. Now he was wondering what they would have been like if they were alive in the old west and what Jack would choose to wear for that job. Probably the same old white shirt with leather stains that he loved to wear. He fell asleep thinking about stripping off Jack's wet Marshall clothes in a cabin in the woods.


	97. Build It and They Will Come

_Dissolved_

Chapter 97

**Build It And They Will Come**

* * *

"Did I imagine or dream that we talked about trading surnames last night?" Jack asked as he played with his nasty oatmeal breakfast and Nathan drank some ‘smoothie’ that looked like it was meant as a supplement for racehorses. 

"Nope, not a dream. We talked about it and we determined that it doesn't work unless we're going to be old west Marshals." Nathan replied and rinsed his cup out.

"Why do you talk to me when I'm tired?" Jack asked and shook his head as he remembered calling his husband Nathaniel, his given name that he absolutely loathed.

"You’re adorable. Plus it’s excellent fodder for my mind to play with while I try to shut it down for sleep. Otherwise I'd stay up trying all night trying to figure out how to deploy ice funnels of death to defend our nation." Nathan replied. 

"Sounds like how you invade Oz.". Jack said and his face lit up. " _ Toto _ !"

"No. It's 6 am and I am not singing for you." Nathan quickly replied and filled his coffee mug to go as he wanted to get back to work instead of stopping at Cafe Diem. "I also need to get back to work to make sure I have a weather machine of death ready to show the Pentagon in 9 hours."

"At least tell me how the versions of us that got to live in the wild west played out." Jack said. "Was there a cabin in the woods? Were you wet?"

"Turned into Wild Wild West the TV series: Gadgets, trains, funny sidekick, saving the country. Tons of sex on the train." 

"I was the sidekick?" Jack asked and Nathan nodded. "Weren't they secret service and wasn't the sidekick the science guy?"

"My version is better."

"I can't wait to have kids so I can hear these weird alternate universe things as bedtime stories."

"Careful what you wish for."

"Listen, if it takes putting a whale in the pool so you can tell us these stories, I'll call Taggart  _ right now _ ."

"I've told you about my dreams before."

"The dreams, not the day dreams." Jack clarified. "Not sure if dreaming about global domination is worse or better than you constructing a story about us in another time period just  _ in case  _ we end up time travelling."

"Pays to be prepared."

"Does it?" Jack asked "Because we have  _ yet _ to be prepared for anything that has happened in Eureka and I'm not feeling that level of disaster planning coming from your office." 

"That's because you're cumming in my office."

"Once." Jack said and then added. "So far. But it was a valuable lesson in how kinky you can get when displeased with my interrogation techniques."

"I'm so glad  _ that _ was your takeaway." Nathan went to the kitchen table to start packing up, but made sure to smack Jack’s ass on the way past him.

"Yup. We work together, it's great. We don't work together, you bend me over your desk and remind me how good it can be if we do."

"Next time it's going to be  _ your _ desk because now I know you'll be doing it on purpose." Nathan threatened.

"Eh, Jo's expecting it."

"Probably won’t be Jo that will be walking in on us." Nathan replied. “Probability is _very low_ that you will be that lucky.”

"Oh." Jack thought about it and frowned. 

"So you two are besties now?" Nathan chirped amused that Jack and Jo had some kinda code about office sex, but Jack was still a little worried someone might walk in and catch him bent over and begging to get fucked. He was going to end up using the memory wiper a lot, he could see that now.

"Maybe." Jack shrugged. "I've talked her ear off about you so it's probably in your best interests to not criticize that."

"I'm pretty sure she and Zoe talk more about both of us if your kid knew about Callister." Nathan mused. “Glad you made an ally.”

"Guess there aren't going to be many secrets around here huh?" Jack said and drank his coffee. "So, be honest with me. Why did you really offer Abby a job here? I didn’t think you wanted her as an ally."

"I was honest with you, it was solely because Zoe is going to miss her." Nathan shrugged. “And it was an opportunity to take care of an outstanding issue named Beverly.”

"And Zoe is a lot like me and that makes me wonder if you think _I'm_ going to realize this isn't a vacation and is real life? Maybe take away any temptation to go back to L.A. but not giving me anything to return to?"

"Well that's a huge leap, especially for 6 am." Nathan said and looked over his shoulder at him.

"I had a bad dream.". Jack admitted. "That Abby and you got into it and she pointed out neither of us have moved our stuff into the bunker so it's like it's temporary housing and not home. Like some subterranean vacation in a town where we can work together and when we move in together. Like a daydream."

"That was just a dream. A bad one." Nathan assured him.

"My dreams are not usually that...normal."

"Probably a conversation you've had with her before."

"Probably." Jack nodded. It had been. “She never apologized for throwing out my baseball cards when we moved in together. I never did understand how my baseball cards got in the way of having a baby, other than throwing away my Ken Griffey, Jr. rookie card that could have been Zoe's college fund.”

“S.A.R.A.H.?” Nathan looked up at the ceiling.

_ “Yes, Dr. Stark?” _

“How is the search for Callister going?” He asked. “As well as the plans for your new homebody?”

_“Callister has been very careful to stay off the radar. He doesn’t use a smartphone or internet to avoid it corrupting any systems like he did in Eureka.”_ S.A.R.A.H. replied. _“I could send him mail? I found a P.O. Box in Vancouver, Washington.”_

“Send him one of our ‘Save the Date’ cards.” Jack suggested. “It will tell him he’s welcome to come back into our lives, inform him of the changes in Eureka and give him a picture of something he might miss and want to be a part of. Nathan, you need to hand write it and be the one to call him home.”

“Ok.” Nathan said, appreciating Jack’s insight. “I’ll have those printed today. Send me the address, S.A.R.A.H.” 

_ “With pleasure, Dr. Stark.” _

“Let’s go to work.” Jack said and got up and kissed him before grabbing his own stuff and heading in early to make up for leaving early later to see Zoe’s play. "We have to make sure nothing gets in the way of 'A Midsummer Night's Invasion' tonight!"


	98. Outstanding Issues

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 98

**Outstanding Issues**

* * *

“So, Zoe is _very_ excited she gets to stay in Eureka.” Abby said as she raised her teacup to her lips and watched her ex-husband react to her tone of voice. They were sitting in a booth at Cafe Diem, having breakfast together after she dropped Zoe off at school. She was getting a feel for the town and really had to admit she adored the place and how friendly everyone was. It just wasn't for her and she was surprised Jack liked it at all. Jack signed, rubbed his neck, leaned forward and looked everywhere but at her. He knew this was coming. “She’s also very excited to stay in her new house which raises some questions about why all your stuff is there and you’re not.”

A double hit. Jack was convinced his Friday Fiasco was just going to be dealing with Abby and her simple, yet very purposeful, questions. “Yeah. She likes it here and we’re planning to move into that house. Just have to work on the security and some other stuff.”

Abby put her cup down. “Did we actually want to _discus_ s where our daughter is going to live or are you just going to start making all the parenting decisions and make up for the last ten years you missed out on?”

“Abby…”

“If so, you should probably go to the parent teacher conference you were supposed to have with her teachers already. You should also review her course-load, which is quite ambitious if you ask me. And legally our custody agreement only gives you our daughter every other weekend which you have yet to abide by. So, where do we start?”

Jack had to keep telling himself that she wasn’t wrong. He hadn’t been there for them. “With the fact that she ran away to be here and volunteered for that course-load. I’m here now, Abby, and I’m ready to do what it takes. The homework isn't something I can handle, but Nathan loves it. So, you tell me, what does it take?”

“I miss my daughter.”

“I know.”

“And it’s only been two weeks.”

“I know.”

“And it’s only been _ two weeks _ .” Abby repeated and looked at him. “Jack, I don’t want to doubt you or your ability to manage your personal life but…”

“But you were there for my fuck ups the first time and you think I’m going to do the same thing with Nathan.” Jack shrugged. So maybe he dreamed about this because he knew this conversation was coming. “And you think I’m not living in Nathan’s nice house because if we don’t move in together then we’re still just on our honeymoon and it’s all rainbows and unicorns until I actually have to be an adult.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No, but you were thinking about it when you checked the place out. When you saw Nathan was moved in and all my shit was still boxed up in the garage. Then Zoe gave you a tour and Nathan offered you a job to keep you here and I don’t blame you for thinking it.” Jack leaned back and crossed his arms. “My answer is: I don’t know. I’m really trying to not screw this up and I asked for your help so I’m willing to take whatever you throw at me because obviously there are signs you’re seeing that I need to think about.”

“All I want to know is…."

"I'm listening." Jack said as she hesitated and it was unlike her to nit just hit him with her questions or observations.

"What happened to us, Jack?” Abby asked. “I keep asking myself that question and I can't answer it. How did we go from where we were fifteen years ago to where we are now? When did we fall out of love? Were we ever in love? Did we just get married because of Zoe? Did you divorce me because you had Nathan waiting for you? What happened? I was expecting you and I to just be apart a little while and then come back to each other, just like we always had. Now, you're gone and so is my daughter. Now, you're being everything I wanted for someone else.”

“We were young and we thought we knew everything.” Jack said and played with his napkin. “I loved you, I love our daughter...but then I loved my job more than both of you and that wasn’t fair. I didn’t know what I was missing. I thought there would be time to fix it all and I never made that time. I failed you both. It was me. I'll admit that. It was me.”

“What does Nathan have that I didn’t?” She asked and smiled. “Other than the obvious anatomy?”

“He and I talk about who we used to be a lot: from who he was last time he was in Eureka to who we were in high school. He’s got a weird hobby of thinking about alternative universes and time travel and I really hope that doesn’t come into play someday. Anyhow, I think we just found each other at the right time. More mature, more jaded, more aware that we can’t just expect people we love to wait for us to be ready for them. We just fit. Abby, I can talk to him with the life experiences and knowledge of who I am today and I think we both enjoy seeing each other’s views of the world. I can’t really explain it, but he truly adds another layer to things I wouldn’t have seen without him. You and I kept seeing things in the same color spectrum, but you saw it from one side and me from the other and so one of us was always wrong in our eyes.”

“You two talk a lot.” She said. “That explains it. You and I never really talked. You refused to budge from how the law saw things and I refused to accept that there was only right and wrong and wanted to talk about ‘why’.”

“With him, he just makes a new color if the black and white don’t work. He makes new rules. I'm looking for the answer to Who did it, you want Why tehy did it and Nathan wants to know How he can make it right.” Jack said. “I still don’t like how the rules he makes let people get out of paying for what they did, but this town is different. It’s not just him bending rules.”

“So is that why there are posters of him half naked all over the high school?”

“Oh, that damned calendar.” Jack mumbled. “Yeah, he’s all about promoting safety and loving radiation.”

“So high school students and their teachers can have his mostly naked body on display on the wall, in the locker room, the girls bathroom, the principal's office...?”

“Basically. Everyone has one, but me.” Jack shrugged. “He also has amazing sperm and that is the bane of my existence right now. In the text books, in the lake...”

“Wow, Eureka is different.” She said getting more information than she really wanted. “And Tesla is pretty intense.”

“It is.” Jack said. “And Zoe is trying really hard to step it up. So if you want to do that parent-teacher thing we can schedule it while you’re here.”

“I already scheduled it. We’re heading to school after breakfast.” Abby smiled.

“Great, thanks for telling me.” Jack gave her a curt smile.

“You didn’t tell me you were planning to move our child to another state, so I think a simple meeting pales in comparison to that.”

“You didn’t tell me what it was going to take for me to do that?” Jack asked. “At least give us a semester to see if one of us screws up. This place is really everything it’s advertised to be. I’m committed to making it work for all of us.”

“Ok.” She said. “One semester and we’ll talk about it.”

“Can we not tell Zoe?” Jack asked. “I don’t want to put pressure on her to do well in school, not like that. I want her to decide to do this on her own without a threat like that hanging over her head. When it gets close to the end of the semester, I’ll tell her.”

“That’s on you, Jack.” Abby said and shook her head. “You better tell her.” 

“I will.” Jack said “When it’s the right time.”

“I know you well enough to know you’ll put it off until I’m on your doorstep and I’m going to look like the villain for making her report card the requirement for living with her Dad.”

“She’s got enough deadlines, just let her figure out her own place.” Jack said. “She is a lot like me and right now this whole town is watching to see if I can make it work with Nathan and if we will survive. I hate it. I’m going to shield her from that kind of pressure if I can. So, let me tell her.”

“Alright.” Abby said. “Will you tell Nathan?”

“No.” Jack said. “He’s got enough to worry about and I don’t want him trying to influence the results.”

“OK.” Abby said and finished her tea. This was a recipe for disaster, but he was an adult making his own decisions. “So are you ready to sit down with her teachers?”

“Sure.” Jack said and got up and felt a lot of weight on his shoulders for making that deal. 


	99. Testing Me

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 99

**Testing Me**

* * *

  
  


“I thought this was a parent-teacher conference not a parent- _principal_ conference.” Jack said as he sat down in Dr. Ewing’s office and the Principal of Tesla seemed none too thrilled to see him either.

“Our teachers  _ are teaching _ .” Ewing said and placed two folders on the desk in front of them containing Zoe Carter’s paperwork. “Not everyone has the freedom to not report to work in order to follow up on overdue appointments.”

Jack glared at him as Abby picked up her folder and started flipping through it. Apparently she wasn’t going to speak up for him and he didn’t realize how quickly he had gotten used to Nathan being protective and bitter sarcastic in his defense. He also wasn’t sure what he did to this guy to make him dislike him. Other than….that whole drug search and internship revocation with Dylan Hartwell. Yeah, that could be it. “I went in early today, thank you very much.” 

“Good for you.” Ewing said and then directed his attention to Dr. Carter. “As you can see, Zoe has taken her required tests.”

“Why do you require an IQ test to determine courses available to students?” Abby asked. “It’s hardly an accurate measure of intelligence and behavior.”

“You’re not pleased with her score?” Ewing asked surprised.

Jack quickly grabbed his folder and opened it up to see what page they were on. “ _Holy shit!_ 157!?”

“Our daughter is a genius. A score of over 140 is considered genius.” Abby said proudly and Jack shrank back into his chair.

So his 111 was hardly impressive. 

“However, IQ tests rarely account for a true assessment of a person’s intelligence since it’s merely  _ a test _ . It measures your reasoning and problem solving ability, your memory and attention to detail. Your ability to sit through a test. A test that measures cognitive ability does not account for creativity or emotional intelligence." Abby explained to her ex-husband. "What test did you use, Dr. Ewing? it’s already been widely debated that modern IQ tests are biased and do not account for cultural diversity.”

“Your daughter scored 157.” Ewing said to her. Then he looked at the dumbfounded Sheriff. “Einstein was 160.”

“Holy shit!” Jack said and they both ignored him. His kid was going to run over Einstein!?

“I’m more than aware of what the results mean, I am concerned about what expectations are now set because of the results of a test I think is incredibly flawed.” Abby said. “Psychologically, having a bar set that high as a predictor of achievements is incredibly detrimental to a students' mindset. Unrealistically high expectations are a huge deterrent to  _ learning.  _ Instead of being educated and tested on what she is taught, she is being told she’s not living up to her potential if she doesn’t score high on something she has never had access to. So what test are you using?”

“One of my own design.” Ewing said.

“Than I would like to see your research and studies on this test, unless you are testing your students for your own benefit?” Abby asked. “Certainly a high school with the greatest minds in the world would be a fantastic place to do _your_ research? Since standardized testing is a big business that has little benefit to anyone but corporate entities, I am skeptical at the end result of this trial being run here in _your_ school.”

“My test has been honed over the last 40 years that I have been teaching at Tesla and is  _ not  _ in a testing phase.” Ewing said harshly. "I am not looking to profit off this test, the ones profiting off of it are the students in this facility as they do not waste time with courses that are not suited to their needs!"

Jack sat back in his chair and flipped through his folder. Finally! Someone else was the subject of Abby’s scrutiny and he was kinda happy it was this guy who thought he was a moron. So maybe his ex-wife didn’t come to his rescue like Nathan did, sexy and mighty King on a fire-breathing steed, but she sure did it her own way and it was pretty satisfying as well.

“I’d still like copies of your research papers so I can determine the validity of this IQ test _that only exists in Eureka_.” Abby said and watched him swivel to his computer.

“I’ll email it to you right now.” 

Jack sat back and decided to say very little and delight in the fact that _ his _ daughter was a certified genius! No wonder she was bored in school in LA. Hell, she got a 157 on the IQ test skipping all those classes!?! 

“And please include your data on this aptitude test as well.” Abby said as she went through the paperwork. “According to this she’s destined for a future in robotics. My daughter has never shown interest in  _ robots _ , not even in a movie. She cried when she saw the animatronics at DisneyLand when she was little. Where did _this_ result come from?”

“I assume from her step-father who has done ground-breaking work in artificial intelligence and robotics.” Ewing replied.

“In Nathan’s defense, he’s done ground-breaking work on  _ everything _ .” Jack told Abby ho looked at him like maybe Natahn was trying to create some mini-me to take over the world. “Who knew there would be so many uses for a degree in fission-powered water heater repair? Not me! Yet here I am, witnessing its practical application at work and at home.”

“So Nathan’s building robots at your house?” Abby asked.

“Not so much.” Jack said and then thought about it. “The house is an A.I.”

“So did he influence Zoe's results? Or did the house?” Abby asked. 

“I don’t know how he could? He’s mentioned his specialties in passing and I’m still finding out what he tinkers with. He’s helped her with homework, unless she takes Robotics 101 I don’t see how that is possible. Especially not in a week?” Jack said. 

“You don’t know what she’s taking?” Abby asked and showed Jack the paper with their daughter's schedule. She wasn't taking robotics, but he didn't know that.

“Uh, marine biology and…” Jack shrugged. “Math and science.....and driver’s ed.”

“Jack….” She chided. 

“Abby, he doesn’t influence people to choose a special science elective, he only scares them in to producing results of their chosen science thing. I married a Nobel Prize winning genius with multiple degrees in things I don’t even know about and he’s running the most advanced scientific research facility in the world. Of course I am thrilled he’s helping my genius kid with her homework.” Jack waved his hand at the test results. “Honestly if _he_ took the test, I think he would break it because he dabbles in  _ everything _ . He thinks it’s all great except for ghosts and meteorology.”

“And psychology.” Abby added, having been the subject of Nathan's eye-roll when she first met him. 

“That too.” Jack looked at the paperwork in his lap and said. “I can’t be more proud of her and I’m glad I have the resources to provide her with the ability to figure out what she wants to do with this huge brain of hers. I’m not the guy who can help her other than to provide support. It’s just a test, like you said, it has its flaws and we, as parents, don’t care what a paper tells us she should do.”

“Except the tests are incredibly accurate.” Ewing reminded them and returned to looking at them.

“Well, how would you know?” Jack asked. “If everyone puts stock in them and just accepts they’re right...does anyone try to break the mold you made for them? Doesn’t that just test their compliance to your test and not it’s accuracy?”

Abby smiled at the principal. “Exactly. It sounds like you’re using a standardized test to limit your students' growth. Hardly something I would expect from the most advanced school in America. Tests are not reliable and all they do is test a student’s ability to take tests. I want my daughter to have full access to the curriculum and anything of her choosing, not just a predetermined career path from a test she took in her first week in Eureka.”

“I assure you, Dr. Carter, we have Zoe’s best interests in mind and some of the best individuals in their fields working together to give your daughter the best education she can get.”

“You mean the best education a kid who transferred from L.A. can get.” Jack said. “A kid with truancy issues and a penchant for running away from home. The idiot Sheriff's kid. The kid who probably has a world of options everyone else doesn't have because she's Dr. Stark's step-daughter. A kid who didn’t grow up in Eureka playing WeatherWatch Wizard for Pete the Weatherman or building spaceships in Kindergarten. I agree with Abby, it’s in your best interests to make sure the kids perform to prove your test is right and she's an outlier that shouldn't be able to do well because she wasn't born and raised here.”

“Sheriff Carter..” Ewing puffed up, offended.

“Dr. Ewing.” Jack countered and played his hand that he didn’t want to play. “I watched one of your superstar students have a melt down last week, because he’d been forced into this mold by his parents and the school system. I watched him zip around, high on a drug he cooked, pull a gun on me, and then threatened my husband at our house when he didn’t get what he wanted. That was the act of a kid lashing out against the pressures he had been put under to perform. So, sorry if I don’t want to see my kid become Dylan Hartwell. Don’t change her course load because of what the test says, let her keep the stuff she picked when she enrolled.”

“I agree with Jack.” Abby said. “This selection tells me she’s been forced to conform to a lower standard in L.A. and was lashing out because she was bored and not challenged by the public school system. None of these courses are easy nor anything like the requirements she had. So, your proposal to change her class schedule is denied.” 

Jack raised his eyebrows and tried to flip through the folder without being obvious.  _ That _ was why they had this conference? This guy thought Zoe was taking classes that didn’t make her Mrs. Roboto? Oh he really needed to pay more attention to this stuff. “Yeah. Veto.” 

“Then please sign the waiver in the folder and accept the consequences of your actions on your daughter’s education.” Ewing said. 

“Gladly.” Abby said and grabbed a pen and put her file on the desk to sign.


	100. Who We Used To Be

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 100

**Who We Used To Be**

* * *

  
  


“Are you really concerned about the Principal using the kids of his school as guinea pigs for his research, or were you just asserting dominance and making sure that guy knew who he was dealing with?” Jack asked as they walked out of the school with more paperwork because of their decision.

“A little of both.” Abby replied and smiled at him. “I’ll review his documentation and determine if there is a problem before I head back to L.A., however I can see where a school of gifted kids would need a test tailored to them. I doubt that I’m the first parent to accuse him of having a hand in ‘fixing’ the test, though I’m sure I’m the first who got combative over a good result.”

Jack nodded. “And that part about an IQ test not taking into account creativity or emotional intelligence? Or people who don’t take tests well?”

“He clearly doesn’t respect you.” She said and stopped and turned to him as she got to her car. “Or perhaps doesn’t like you because you found a _ drug problem _ in his school within the first week of working here?”

“Caught that, huh?” Jack shrugged. “It’s taken care of.”

“Is it the same Dylan Zoe was dating?” She asked and Jack’s face said yes. “She does talk to me, Jack. She was excited about a cute boy she met and was using it as proof that she was hanging out with smart and respectable people.”

“Well, he was smart, and also dumb.” Jack shrugged. “The kid cracked under pressure but his solution was to cook a drug that gave him more time to work and sped up his mental capacity...so he was really getting high on education.”

“And you’re not holding it against her for picking out the drug addict?”

“It wasn’t her fault.” Jack assured her. “She’s just a teenager trying to fit in and that kid understood what she was going through. Parents that work at Global, one a Nobel laureate, an internship at Global already...expectations that he was going to exceed them both. And he did combine physics and chemistry to make something really dangerous and potentially usable. I just don’t want to see her go down that road. She’s already  _ hit the road _ trying to get our attention and I just want her to figure out who she is and what she wants for herself.”

“Is that what happened, to us, Jack?” Abby asked. “You went on the road and found out there was someone you really wanted more than me?”

Jack took a deep breath and knew he should have expected her to catch him off guard with a question at some point. However, that one was a kick to the gut. 

“I keep asking myself what happened and how I lost you and I can’t answer it.” Abby shook her head and looked down at the folder in her hands. “We found a way to work out our frustrations by separating and coming back to each other. I thought that was what we needed: a little freedom and time apart to remind ourselves how much we missed being together. I’m struggling to understand us, Jack. As a psychologist it’s unsettling I can’t explain my own relationship.”

“Abby, what we had wasn’t healthy and our way of maintaining it wasn’t healthy either.” Jack said and tried to come up with a good answer for why he finally left. An answer that wasn’t ‘Nathan’. 

“I know.” She said and looked at her watch. “I have another session with a client in half an hour, I better get back to the house.”

“We’ll talk, later.” Jack promised as she got in her car and gave him the look that said she just wanted a straight answer. He watched her leave and leaned against his Jeep and thought about it. He felt like he was cheating on his ex-wife with his husband, like he gave Nathan a version of himself that Abby was always waiting for at home. It was a shitty feeling and he couldn’t say that it was unfounded. 

* * *

“What’s gotten into you?” Jo asked Carter as she picked though the second cooler filled with pieces of Neil Baxter and determined that there was no ‘evidence’ they needed to separate from his shattered frozen body before they turned him over to the coroner, again, to be released for a funeral. 

“Am I supposed to be excited about making the call to a guy’s family and letting them know that their son died in a flash freezing accident and they can come claim his body, which will be in ziplock baggies?” Jack asked as he picked up yet another easy to view bag of what remained of Dr. Baxter. “But they have the option of letting him melt and being refrozen into some body-like mold so they can have an open freezer casket funeral?”

“You’re quiet.” Jo observed. “I thought we’d at least be tossing around some puns.”

“Will it be a _frosty_ reception after the funeral?” Jack asked and she gave him a look that said she saw though his half-hearted attempt at a joke. “Ok, fine. I wasn’t expecting Abby to make me feel so guilty about moving on. No, correction, about being in love with Nathan and ending our marriage so I could be happy with him.”

“She said that!?”

“Not so much, but she keeps asking what happened to our marriage. Like she accepted that I was incapable of being there, of being the man she wanted to be married to, but then she sees me with Nathan and there is the Jack Carter she wanted, but he's in love with someone else.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Does she know you were divorcing him? That you guys have fought?”

“Yes. And I’m sure she knows details. Zoe calls her every night. She wants to talk to someone because she really wants to help me be happy.” Jack set the icy remains of Baxter on his desk and sat back in his chair to swivel back and forth. “But I am working harder, and accepting more, with him than I ever did with her. That's fact.”

“You two just...work well.” Jo said. “There is a thing called ‘compatibility’ and you two just have it.”

“How do I explain why I forgive him for moving me across the country when all she asked me to do was move into an office instead of travel all the time?” Jack asked. “How does that come down to anything else other than ‘I love him more than you?’.”

“You two are divorced.” Jo said and put a baggie back in the cooler and grabbed another one. “You need to focus on not getting divorced from your current spouse. From what I can see, you’re doing a damned good job of it.”

“I’ll say.” Jack said and realized Baxter’s remains were starting to melt. “Nathan’s already got the invitations made for our wedding and wants to start planning.”

“Wedding planning?” Jo asked hopefully.

“Why do you sound so excited?” Jack asked and looked at her. 

“I like weddings, Ok? So, can I help?”

“Well, since you’re a dancer….I really could use some instruction.” Jack said and gently placed Baxter’s bits back in the cooler and shut the lid. “I doubt Nathan wants to do the Macarena.”

“You want, dance lessons?” Jo said and grinned from ear to ear.

“As long as you go easy on me and don’t act like a drill instructor, I’d very much appreciate being able to dance with my husband at our wedding and surprise him.” Jack said. 

“Let’s start now.” Jo said and stood up and shoved her desk out of the way to make a dance floor.

“With a frozen dead guy in coolers all around the office?” Jack asked as she shoved an oak desk like it was made of cardboard.

“Well, he’s not going to criticize you, is he?” She said and snapped her fingers. “Get up, get over here and get used to letting me lead.”

“Well...” Jack stood up as she came over to shove his desk out of the way too. “I guess that works because I’m sure Nathan will lead too.”

“Damn right he will.” Jo said and grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the chair. “You’re also going to need months of work to get you relaxed enough to look natural. So we start now.”

“What about Baxter?”

“He’ll keep.” Jo said and solved a cooler out of her way with her foot. “At least for five days in those coolers.”

Jack got whipped around and into Jo’s arms as she went into ‘dance mode’ real fast. 


	101. I Think of You

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 101

**I Think of You**

* * *

"Well, this definitely  _ never _ happened when Sheriff Cobb was in charge.". Nathan said as he walked into the Sheriff's Department and saw Jack and Jo slow dancing, or at least trying to. One did not have to be a genius to piece together reasons why Jack would subject himself to dance lessons.

"Team building exercise." Jack said, even though Nathan's smile said he appreciated the dance lessons because he genuinely did want _all_ the real wedding stuff. "Jo wants to lead on more investigations. I figured I'd illustrate that I don't mean to step on her toes, but I will."

"I'm just glad I wear steel toe boots." Jo stepped back and got ready to spin him towards Nathan, which she hoped would end well and not end up with him face down on the floor. Only one way to find out.

Jack was distracted and almost got his arm removed from it's socket as Jo swung him towards Nathan and he ended up getting caught by his husband in the perfectly posed 'dip' position as he tripped and flopped backwards into his waiting arms. "I wasn't expecting you to have time to visit today." 

"I'm on the way back from Whitticus's cabin and picked up our wedding invitations, so I thought I’d drop them off." Nathan set Jack upright and placed the box on Jack's desk which was shoved next to the counter. "And these."

Jack watched him dangle keys on his finger. "Which go to…"

"Wendy Whitticus's cabin." Nathan announced. "Now yours."

"You took away her _ sex cabin _ ?" Jack asked. 

"No, she decided she didn't want it anymore because she got caught using it as the aforementioned sex cabin." Nathan dropped the keys in his hand. " So I took possession of it as head of GD, and will have it cleaned out and turned over to the next person on the wait-list for housing. Thought you might like a cabin we can use as a getaway. Since S.A.R.A.H.is a project and not a house, you as Sheriff still need a house of your own. Surprise!"

"A cabin!". Jack said with a huge smile and let Nathan pull him into his chest with the arm that caught him from that dance move. "With a huge weather satellite of death in the backyard and many _many_ attachment points for jungle gym equipment on the ceilings and walls!"

"The dish is moving as we speak as it's now part of our Hyper-Velocity Anti-Missile Shield Array." Nathan said and quirked an eyebrow. “Do you want all those brackets taken down too?”

"Nah, we’ll find a use for them, but you need to have that cabin cleaned, pronto. Wendy and Neil splashed fluids everywhere." Jack informed him. "And I mean  _ everywhere _ ."

"I'll take care of it and have it ready for the weekend since Zoe will be at the house with Abby and you and I finally have a weekend off." Nathan replied and Jack leaned against his arm and frowned.

"Why would you say that?". Jack whined and clutched his new house keys. "Why would you tempt fate?"

"Because I have a new weather satellite dish of death at my disposal and can take out any threat to my relaxing weekend at the click of a button." Nathan replied and made a clicking sound with his tongue.

"That sounds horrible."

“You never had a problem with the sound my tongue makes before, especially when I use my tongue _like that_.”

“Not what you did with your mouth, the Weather Wizard of Oz thing!”

"It was  _ your _ idea." Nathan reminded him.

"Not to make it turn on with a button! Talk about tempting fate, or rather, Fargo." Jack said and Nathan rolled his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll make it a switch or key.” Nathan said and gave him a kiss on the lips before backing towards the door. “Gotta go. I’ll see you after the Pentagon Test.”

“We’ll celebrate.” Jack said and held up his keys. 

“I’ll get the cabin cleaned.” Nathan said as he left.

Jack looked at the keys and smiled. That cabin was really nice and was perfect for them to get away to. He really appreciated Nathan’s thoughtful gifts and he realized that was the huge difference between him and Abby. “OK, I figured out why Abby and I didn’t work.”

“Because she never walked into a sticky sex cabin and thought to herself, ‘Wow, Jack would love this place’?” Jo asked as she pushed her desk back into place. 

“Yeah.” Jack said and sat on his desk. “I mean, it’s not like he bought it for me, and it’s kinda preferential treatment to give me the house instead of someone else, but...he knew I liked that place and made it happen. I don’t want to make Abby sound like my evil ex-wife, but I always felt like she was trying to erase  _ me _ in order to make  _ us _ . Like when she threw out my shoe box of baseball cards when we moved into our apartment and were expecting Zoe.”

“She _what_?" Jo asked "Why?”

“Because we ‘needed the space’.” Jack said and shrugged. “Like we were going to put a baby in a shoe box under the bed? I don’t know. It just hurt that she cared so little about something that brought me joy. She knew better, she analyses everything I do, and yet she could never see from how I reacted to what she did that I hated how she treated me like I was only allowed to compliment her. So she forced the issue by getting rid of my Ken Griffey, Jr rookie card.”

“Ok, she is evil. Did she realize how much that card was worth?”

“I know! That’s what I said!” Jack pulled the box of invitations over and opened it up. It was about the size of a shoe box and inside there were some personal cards. What once was lost was now coming back to him with interest. There in the box was _the_ pool picture and it struck him how wholeheartedly in love he and Nathan were and how much it showed. He and Abby always posed for pictures, he and Nathan were the picture of two people in love. “Oh, I can’t give Abby one of these. It’s like rubbing her face in the fact that I love Nathan more than her.”

Jo came over and he gave her the invitation. “Oh wow. This picture is amazing!”

“Putnam does great work.” Jack said and she slapped his knee. 

"You two make the picture, not the photographer."

“So what do I do?" Jack asked, appreciating how supportive she was. "Just tell Abby that Nathan and I are getting remarried and the date and that I’d like her to come? Is that cruel? Making my ex come to my wedding and watch as I marry my husband  _ again  _ because I love him so much? And dressing up like she wanted me to, with the dance lessons she wanted me to take? With the wedding we never had because we ran out of time?”

“As long as you don’t ask her to walk you down the aisle and give you away, I don’t see why not?” Jo said and looked at him, looked at the guilty look on his face. “You’re not the bad guy for being happy.”

“Feels like it.” He said. “There’s a lot about our marriage I really haven’t wanted to think about that still really hangs over me like a storm cloud." 

“You said you were married for fifteen years.” Jo said and took the invitation over to her desk. “Zoe’s fifteen.”

“Abby got pregnant and I wanted to do the right thing.” Jack said and sighed. “I loved her, or else we wouldn’t have been dating, and I love Zoe...I never regret her. However we were young and in college and I genuinely thought I was ready for it all. My life had changed once already, when my baseball career was over, so I was so confident that I could handle a family and a career and I don’t think I really understood how much I would love my job. I wanted a family, I always did, but not when I was twenty years old. It was OK when I was with L.A.P.D. but then I got the Marshal job. I got to travel and see things that I thought I was going to see when I pitched for the Dodgers. I liked that too much, I guess.”

“Do you think if Zoe didn’t come along that you two would have gotten married?” Jo asked and he looked pained as he thought about it.

“Moving in together was rough.” Jack admitted. “Our lives didn’t merge, mine just stopped and was disposed of and her stuff became what was good and better. So...um...I probably wouldn’t have stuck around through that. I thought it would get better, and I just told myself it wasn’t worth fighting over furniture or how long it would take me to commute versus her or...all the dumb adult stuff you argue about when you start living with someone."

Jo just looked at him and waited for it to dawn on him what he just said. 

Jack wasn't sure what to make of that look until a switch flipped in his head and made the connection that allowed the light bulk to come on. "And now I get why I had such a hard time moving in with Nathan.  _ Shit. _ ”

“Jack, don’t be ashamed of this.” Jo said and held up the invitation. “This is something anyone should look at and be happy for you both. They should want it for themselves, but wanting one of you to be the one who brings it to them is purely selfish and stupid. I want this, I want this kind of love. The kind anyone can see without having to be told. I think if she wants to keep dwelling on how you didn’t do this for her, then she’s the problem. I think she’s the problem anyway.”

“Thanks.” Jack said and stood up and shoved his desk back to where it belonged. He smacked right into a cooler filled with Neil Baxter bits. He looked at the cooler and frowned. Wendy and Steven Whitticus were a lot like him and Abby, together because they did love each other and made a great life, but were still searching for that passion and powerful connection that just wasn’t there. Neil Baxter had to come and fill in that hole, literally. He opened up the cooler and pulled out a bag and said, “Well, back to work I guess.”

“So what did you find in that sex cabin? You never did tell me details and it’s missing in the report.” She said and his eyebrows raised.

“What I saw made the scary satellite dish look like it was the safest apparatus on the property. I think there was some kind of slingshot in the living room, and I opened up the cedar chest looking for evidence, and found all the attachments.”

“Oh damn.”

“Look, I am not one to shame anyone for the stuff they get into, especially since I married a scientist who made his own satisfying toys, but that sling was a bit intimidating.” Jack admitted and held up a Baggie o’ Baxter. “This dude either had a hell of an imagination or those monkeys in Africa are really into some wild shit.”


	102. Rest in Pieces

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 102

**Rest in Pieces**

* * *

One of the worst parts of Jack’s job was notifying the family of the deceased that their loved one was gone. Eureka, of course, managed to make that even worse than normal. Today he was going to inform the family of Neil Baxter how their son died and that they had the option to take him home in pieces or have him melted and reformed into a more human shaped ice cube. “Mr and Mrs. Baxter, I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

“Well, we decided that we didn’t want to wait for closure.” Mr. Baxter said and held his wife close to him as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “We want to get our boy home.”

Jo could not believe that the Baxter’s chose  _ now _ to come and claim Neil’s body; Neil who was still in coolers all around the Sheriff’s office and the ‘evidence’ they had picked out of the remains in a baggie on Jack's desk. Why GD didn’t want to collect their own ‘flash freeze proof’ SD cards, memory chips and security implants was beyond her comprehension. However, that decision lead to Neil being present when his parents came to pick him up for burial.  _ Awkward.  _ So she busied herself with closing the coolers, gathering the required paperwork and looking busy to give Carter a chance to make the best of this situation. 

“Are we interrupting a party?” Mr. Baxter asked as he looked around the room and saw enough coolers to put a frat house to shame.

Jack gave them a sympathetic smile and walked over to the counter and pointed to the hallway. “Perhaps you and Mrs. Baxter should come take a seat in the hall while my Deputy gets the paperwork ready for Neil’s release.”

Jo was glad she wasn’t Sheriff right now. She wondered how Jack was going to make this situation seem anywhere near normal.

Jack got the Baxters seated on a bench in the hallway and pulled up a chair to sit in front of them and put on his consoling face and try to deliver the news of their son’s condition with the most empathy he could. “As I explained on the phone, Neil was the victim of a freak science accident.”

“Is that your subtle way of saying he died because of one of his sex toys?” Mr. Baxter asked. “Because I assure you, there is nothing ‘freak’ about satisfying the primate in all of us by utilizing his inventions.”

Jack sat there with his mouth open, he wasn’t expecting that. Then he heard something in the office that sounded like a splash and wondered if Jo dropped her coffee cup over that, but when he stood up and looked she was pointing at an empty Ziploc bag and mouthing the words ‘OH MY GOD’. Oh my god, she dropped a melty Baxter bag on the ground?!? Oh, that was the one he had on his desk...thawing so he could salvage another memory card. He sat down and smiled at the Baxters. They looked hostile now, expecting him of passing judgement on them and their son. “Actually, no. He died in a weird weather related accident that froze the hot springs.”

“Oh.” Mrs. Baxter said and suddenly her eyes dried up. “I thought for sure it was going to be his new invention.”

“Froze to death?” Mr. Baxter asked. 

“Flash frozen.” Jack said and the Baxters seemed to be less upset now that they knew it wasn’t about Neil’s swingin' side-hustle. Neil’s Dad getting defensive about scratching that 'primate need' seemed like an indication that Neil got his particular tastes from his parents. Oh, boy, thank god this conversation wasn't going to be awkward! Ah, Eureka! “Which brings me to why we have so many coolers in my office.”

“Oh no.” Mr. Baxter said.

“Oh, Neil.” Mrs. Baxter said and shook her head. 

  
  


“Unfortunately the flash freezing made his body very fragile and he shattered when we investigated the crime scene.” Jack explained. “We were able to save most of him and keep him frozen, especially during our investigation into his death, which was ruled an accident. Global Dynamics has offered to remold his remains into a very solid likeness of Neil. Silicone mold, free of charge.”

“So he’s in the coolers?” Mrs. Baxter asked and got up to go check on the many coolers in the office.

“Yes.” Jack said and hoped that Jo made sure that he was _mostly_ in the coolers and not splattered on the floor.

“So an autopsy wasn’t done, per say.” Mr. Baxter asked.

“As best as we could do considering rigor mortis was more like frigid mortis.” Jack said and Mr. Baxter also got up to go check out his son’s body. OK, this was weird. He’d seen some weird reactions, but nothing like this curious investigation of the deceased body. Not unless…”Are you guys scientists too?”

“Yes. Jenny and I are an anthropologist and primatologist, respectively.” Mr. Baxter said. “Neil combined our specialties to become a very well respected ethologist.”

Jack looked over at Jo as the Baxters opened up a cooler to look at their son. Something was off here. They were looking for some _thing_ , not some _one_. They were way more excited about the cause of death than they should be. He went to his desk and picked up a box containing Neil’s shatterproof watch and said. “If you’re looking for personal effects, I have them right here.”

“Oh thank goodness.” Jenny Baxter said and took the box and held it close to her. She looked in it and tried to not look disappointed. “Louis and I gave the watch to Neil when he took the job here, we were so proud.”

“I can’t help but notice you look disappointed.” Jack said and pushed the bag of memory cards and evidence behind him as he sat down on his desk. Casually he asked, “Were there more valuables that Neil had on him than that? Maybe a class ring? You know, mementos?”

Jo went over to the desk and took the bag of indestructible memory cards they had been picking out of Neil’s body parts all day. So naughty Neil was doing more than people’s wives. Interesting. Weird his parents seemed to know about it too. She put the release documents down and hid the evidence bag in Jack’s empty coffee cup and took it over to the coffee pot like she was going to get him a refill.

“Could be still on him, could be at his house.” Jack said with a shrug. “I do have to inform you that Global Dynamics does thoroughly clean and pack a person's house when they get redacted, living or dead. So there is a claim form if you feel they confiscated something they shouldn’t have. All right here if you want to sit down so we can go over it all?”

“How do we arrange for his body to be transported?” Jenny asked and closed the cooler. “A normal funeral home can’t handle this.”

“Well, Global will put him in a mold if you want.” Jack said and and handed them the brochure. He had asked Henry  _ why _ there was a brochure for this and Henry replied with a smile that said ‘liquification of GD employees has resulted in a 3D body mold being offered as a burial option’ and Jack just nodded. Jack loved how fucked up his job was. “It's a state of the art silicone skin mold so he looks and feels real, while the remains will be inside and frozen for at least a few days so you can have a funeral.”

“That’s a good option.” Louis said and nodded. “We’d like closure.”

Jo looked at Jack over the heads of the Baxters and made a slicing motion with her hand. These people were definitely cutting the ‘body’ open and looking through the FlexiBody for any treasures Neil had stuffed in himself to smuggle out of GD. Jack smiled at her as she came around the desk, obviously thinking the same thing. “I can call up to GD and tell them to expect to receive the coolers ASAP. The process takes only a few hours and we can have everything processed to release Neil to the funeral director of your choice today.”

“That would be wonderful.” Jenny said and grabbed her husband’s hand. “That will give us a chance to pack up what we want to keep of Neil’s and head home to make preparations.”

“Well, if you want to take this paperwork with you to review and sign, I can certainly understand needing time to process all this. The top one will be the form for having him molded and that will let us get things rolling.” Jack said and pushed the stack of stuff over to them and boy did they look excited! They signed the paper without really reading it. “And we, once again, are so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you Sheriff, you have been wonderful.” Louis said and helped his wife out of the chair and together they walked to the door. “We’ll head to his house now. Here is my card, you can call us when everything is ready. Thank you for your help and understanding.”

Jack and Jo watched them leave and as soon as the door closed, Jack looked up at Jo and shook his head. “What is it with this place? Why is everyone a villain in a Scooby Doo mystery?”

“We have to find out what’s on those memory cards.” Jo said and went over to the coffee station to get the bag out of the old cup. “Should I head to GD with them or Henry’s?”

“Henry’s.” Jack said and held up his release form. “I’ll bring Neil to GD for his fitting.”

“Do you want to take bets on how this is going to turn out?” Jo asked and held up the evidence bag. “I say Louis Leaky and Jane Goodall out there are the ones marketing Neil’s ‘products’ for him. Anything a scientist makes at GD becomes property of GD since they're using their resources. So the experiments Neil was doing on the side, were to use the ladies of Eureka as free test subjects. Maybe even profit off the pillow talk somehow?”

“I don’t know how much talking anyone was doing with Neil. That cabin looked like a lube waterpark when I turned off the lights to look for body fluids.” Jack looked at the keys on his desk. “Shit! _My_ cabin now. _My new_ cabin that GD might be cleaning as we speak that I need to sweep for spy equipment before I and my Ultra-high government clearance Husband use it this weekend to relax.”

“You’re thinking Wendy wasn’t the only one using the cabin?” Jo asked. “Oh Neil, you dog.”

“There were  _ a lot  _ of fluids.” Jack said. “And if Wendy snuck out once a week, and Neil kept his toys hanging from the ceiling because he knew nobody was visiting the cabin unscheduled, I mean why not? He had a key, I assume.”

“Which means Mom and Dad probably have a key too.” Jo said. “Or will once they go through Neil’s things.”

“Why is everyone we deal with doing something illegal!?” Jack asked. “Or kinky. Is there something in the water around here?”

Jo looked at the cooler beside Jack’s desk and then back to him. 

“Besides Neil.” Jack said and stood up to look at the wet spot on the wood floor. “Do we need to get a haz-mat team in here to clean that up? Is it going to smell once the slushy parts thaw?”

“The way the flash freezing thing works, according to Vincent, is that the meat is frozen so fast that the ice crystals don’t form in between the fibers of the meat. So you don’t get the juices running off when you thaw it out, like you do when you get something out of your freezer. Home freezer is meant to keep frozen things cold, but slow freezing allows the nutritious juices to break down and melt off when you unfreeze it. I assume because Neil is melty that he's just melting and the process really just made him an icicle.”

“I’m trying really hard to concentrate on the fact that this information comes from Vincent so in talking about meat, I’m thinking of steak and not Neil.”

“It’s a cryogenic process, Carter. Ask your husband, that’s one of his fields.” Jo said and waved as she left. “Or Fargo. His grandfather was the one who started the cryo-lab here at GD.”

“All I asked was, is that puddle of Neil on our floor going to stink when we get back? I didn’t break him or spill him, just remember that Josephina! Remember that as his smell will haunt us for the next two weeks if he genuinely is people freezer meat.” Jack yelled as Jo walked to the door. The door closed and Jack looked at all the coolers and realized it was up to him to load them in his Jeep and get them to GD. Great. Just what he needed on his Friday. Body transport and kinky parents breaking into his new cabin, which may or may not have been used as a spy shack. Super! He needed this case solved before Zoe's play and before he and Nathan wanted to use that cabin for their own sexcapades.


	103. Inside Out

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 103

**Inside Out**

* * *

  
  


“I wasn’t expecting to see you at GD today.” Nathan said with a warm smile as he caught Jack coming out of the morgue. “I must not have put enough fear into these people to stop them from ruining your quiet Friday. ”

Jack put his hands in his pockets and smiled back at him. The way Nathan was looking at him made him feel like he was the sole source of light in this bright hallway and it warmed him to his core. How could he have ever wanted to leave this amazing opportunity in Eureka that allowed him to see his husband at work on any given day. Jack from two weeks ago was an idiot. “I was actually going to come look for you once I dropped off Neil's body but it seems like an incredible coincidence you should be down here in the morgue right now.”

Nathan showed Jack his phone. “Fargo has an alert set for my phone when face recognition software locates you on the premises. He says it makes me happy to know you’re here and I proved his hypothesis right.”

“So...that’s creepy.” Jack said and then pulled his hand out of his pocket to wave off the implication that Nathan’s joy was what he was referring to. “By that I mean, Fargo presses a button and it makes you smile.”

“I forgot he installed it, I’ll turn it off.” Nathan said and put his phone away. “I know you like being stealthy.”

Jack smirked, knowing GD’s security system logged his entry, exit and travel around GD no matter what. “As someone who hates surprises, I don’t mind you having an alert that tells you I’m in your building. ”

“Good. Because it does make me happy and gives me an excuse to come see you.”

Jack felt a blush tinge his cheeks as his smile just became impossible to wipe off his face. “Really? I can lure you away from science?”

“You’re cute and flirty, I have my weaknesses.”

Jack walked with him down the hall and they walked close enough to be brushing against each other the entire way. His smile just wouldn’t fade, Nathan really made him feel like he was the most important thing in the world right now. 

“So, what did you need?”

“Oh, we’re going to have a quickie at work?” Jack said and ran his tongue over his lips. “Down in Section 3? How much do you miss me? Is it because we were talking about doing it in my office and you were disappointed to find me dancing among dead body parts with my Deputy instead of hard at work at my desk?”

“I was referring to your earlier statement when you said you were going to come look for me once you got rid of all your body parts.” Nathan said with a smile. “Unfortunately, I really can’t take you up on that offer right now. Pentagon guys are touring GD and I doubt they’re going to appreciate me slipping off to slip into you.”

“Oh well, later.” Jack said and elbowed him gently. “Which brings me to why I came.”

Nathan grinned and made a satisfied throaty sound that made Jack slap his chest with his hand.

“Stop! You’re worse than me!” Jack said, but his smile didn't fade a bit. “I came here to ask if you cleaned up the cabin yet?”

“I sent a cleaning crew over, so they are probably processing it as we speak.” Nathan said. "And unfortunately I definitely don't have time to go over and inspect it with you."

“Wasn't asking for that, but I'm glad that it's all that's on your mind. Can you have them check for security issues?” Jack asked. “Jo and I have been picking memory cards out of Neil’s body all morning and then his parents show up for his body and were a little too excited about no autopsy being performed. Something’s off.”

“It’s part of the process, especially since I expect to be occupying the cabin with you.” Nathan said. “I asked for an enhanced security sweep.”

“Cool.”

“So, are you going to elaborate on why you are going through Neil Baxter’s body parts in your office?” Nathan asked. “Do I need to ask if you’re using proper handling techniques for flash frozen body parts or remind you that there are only so many places a naked man could have been hiding things when he was flash frozen?”

“I’m a cop, cavity searches were a thing. I get that Neil’s internal storage was very literally  _ internal _ .” Jack said and ran his hand through his hair as he tried to come up with the best explanation for why he wanted to comb through the remains. “It was just a hunch. It was just a weird coincidence that at the moment that Neil was soaking in the hot springs that some Weather guy decided that he was going to cause a sudden freeze to thwart the efforts of a rival scientist, the same rival whose wife just enjoyed Baxter’s monkey business at that same cabin. Unless there is a Plot Device? You know, something that makes stuff conveniently happen to make a story interesting?”

“Jack, there is no Plot Device but I’m sure if you mention it to Putnam tonight, he can make you one.” Nathan said as they stopped at the intersection in the Section 3 hallway. “If someone was stealing from GD, I want to know. Pete Puhlman is working on the Weather Array with us, as is Steven Whitticus. If things are compromised, I want to know ASAP.”

“So far  _ everyone _ was stealing from GD. That's been the theme of things since we got here: GD's security is absolute shit.” Jack said quietly. “Warren King was letting Walter Perkins use Section 5 stuff. Spencer stole satellite feeds. Dylan stole drugs...”

“And Baxter?” Nathan asked. “Do you think his promiscuity was giving him access to more than just opportunities to experiment with his toys?”

“I don’t know. Jo brought the memory cards to Henry and I haven’t heard from her yet. I’m hoping they’re just pictures and blackmail opportunities.” Jack said and wished he had more conclusive evidence to go on other than his ‘gut’ and what was in Neil’s guts. “His parents were a trip though. Dad went off about ‘primate needs’ and they might just be using his data to market sex toys.”

“That still is GD property.” Nathan reminded him. “We make a lot of money in that market.”

“I’ll let you know what I find.” Jack said. “If you’ll let me know what your guys find in the cabin? Especially in that box with all the slingshot attachments?”

“I would be glad to.”

“Is there a reason your medical examiner didn’t want to do the autopsy on Neil?”

“Neil is Section 3. He live streamed monkey relationship dynamics. He was frozen in an unrelated accident. The M.E. decided it was best to leave him on ice. Which begs the question, how are you getting all these chips out of him?” Nathan asked and braced himself for the answer he didn't want.

“If you leave him out he defrosts.” Jack said and Nathan frowned.

“Maybe you should stay out of your office for a few hours while I call in a cleaning crew, OK?” Nathan said and pulled out his phone. “I’ll call you with the results from the cabin.”

“What’s going on in my office?” Jack asked. 

“Jack, you can’t just open up bags of frozen people and not expect things to aerosolize. Especially when those pieces you’re picking at were supposed to be contained  _ within  _ the body.” Nathan said and looked him over. “Perhaps, I can also interest you in a quick decontamination shower and maybe later we can go over biosecurity protocol?”

“Goddammit.” Jack said. 

“And I’ll let _you_ call Jo and let her know she needs to shower too. Though she should know better than to let frozen specimens defrost, I'd have expected Taggart to have talked about his time in the arctic tundra and the horrible things they found in the melting permafrost already.” Nathan said and pointed in the direction he wanted Jack to go. Jack's smile was gone now and he hated that he was the one who made it go away. “Hey! Look at the bright side! Looks like I do get to take you into a lab, and get you naked and all wet, after all.”


	104. Wash Away Your Worries

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 104

**Wash Away Your Worries**

* * *

“Please tell me that the shower we’re going to install in the bunker is not like this.” Jack said as he stepped out of the decontamination shower that was nothing like he expected it to be. He was not expecting to be power washed with cold, medical smelling, gel. He was not expecting to feel so violated.

Nathan wrapped a towel around him and smiled. “I was going to include it as one of the features.”

“Don’t.”

“Just in case you come home and admit to playing with juicy bits of dead body at work.” Nathan added.

“I feel like a damned dog that got sprayed by a skunk.” Jack said as he shivered off the cold feeling from the gel and Nathan toweled off his face and rubbed him dry, trying to get him warm. 

“Then maybe you should refrain from poking around in people’s frozen digestive tracts outside of a lab?” Nathan chirped and continued to rub his husband dry as he clung to his own towel and shivered.

“You’re enjoying this.” Jack said dryly.

“I love spending time with you. I love you being naked. I love mocking you for some of the stupid shit you do.” Nathan said and took away his drying towel and kissed Jack on the lips. “I enjoy you, preferably without biological contagions all over your skin and in your sinuses.”

“I wasn’t expecting to get blasted with the gel up the nose, or for it to be pulled out like old silicone caulk off a window.” Jack said and got a kiss on the nose for that. Nathan was smiling, not in a ‘haha you paid the price for your stupid stupid actions’ way but in a ‘you  are my idiot and I love you more with each and every stupid thing you do’ way. 

“I think that can be summed up in the statement, ‘At GD, we all need work on our people skills and that includes invention application on real live human bodies’.”

“Is that the Live Smart Eureka PSA of the month?” Jack asked and took his towel off his body to dry his hair off. “Or commentary on Neil Baxter’s Sex Sling Shot?”

“It’s a general statement for everyone who works here.” Nathan said and went over to get a set of GD gym clothes for Jack. “For the Sheriff’s department I would recommend the motto, ‘Always keep a spare uniform in the car’.”

“The dry cleaner lady is going to really appreciate getting my uniform delivered in a bio-hazard bag.” Jack said and took his temporary clothes. “Thanks, by the way.”

“For what?” Nathan asked. “Making sure you don’t get multiple STDs from the body of the horniest man of Section 3? Dying of an infectious disease he might have been carrying? Or making everyone leave the room while you showered so they didn’t hear you scream when the cold gel hit you?”

“All of the above.” Jack said waved at himself standing there naked. “Or letting anyone see me naked.”

“You’re mine, they don’t get to see what you’re hiding under that uniform.” Nathan said as Jack put his sweatpants on. 

“Tell that to your ex-wife who wants to give me a physical. Or better yet, do that one yourself.”

“Not that kind of doctor.”

“Can you just go get a medical degree? You specialize in everything else.” Jack said with a smile. "How hard can it be for you?"

“Not people.” Nathan shook his head. “Not my thing.”

“Robotic people are OK though.”

“Well yes. I get to play God in creating them.”

Jack smiled and put on his GD t-shirt and zip up hoodie. Then he went over to Nathan and kissed him, a deep and loving kiss. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”

“I can always hear it again.” Nathan said softly. “Hopefully with an explanation of what I did so I can hear it a few more times?”

“You make time for me in the middle of a super busy day.” Jack said and ran his fingers over Nathan’s beard. “Even before I did something stupid and needed to have people particles powerwashed off me. I love that I’m not an inconvenience.”

Nathan watched his face and he could see he started to think of something else. “And?”

“And…” Jack said and looked up at him. “I’ve been struggling with having Abby here, and not how I _thought_ I would. She’s making me feel like...I cheated her. Like I am the one who never gave her this version of me and she doesn’t understand why. Well, you stopped work to come see me and wash me off and I stopped out at the house to talk to her in the middle of an investigation and she got pissed I didn't schedule an appointment. So...thank you for making me feel less guilty about being this happy with you.”

Nathan cupped his cheek in his hand and kissed him. “Tell me next time you’re feeling guilty or wrong in any way about what we have and I will do my best to make you feel _much_ better.”

Jack smiled because that offer was laced with a promise of something sensual to make him feel ‘better’. “I appreciate it. It’s all stuff I gotta work through. Speaking of work…”

“Mmmm.” Nathan said and stole one last kiss before stepping back and smoothing out his suit to go open the door for them. “Should get back to it. Let me know what you turn up on those memory cards, I can have Pete Puhlman pulled off the Weather project in the blink of an eye and waiting for interrogation in Section 3. “

“I appreciate your cooperation, but I don’t have any evidence yet. For all I know those memory cards are full of monkey porn or dick pics from the grotto.”

Nathan stopped with his hand on the doorknob and asked, “You think Neil was so protective of nudes, that he would swallow or rectally retain those cards to smuggle them past security and then spend hours in the hot springs relaxing his body enough to remove those cards?”

Jack picked up his phone and shook his head. He missed a call from Jo. “I don’t want those images in my head along with the weird sensation the gel left behind after picking my nose of microscopic Neil bits.”

“If that’s what it takes to remind you to take lab safety seriously….” Nathan said with a shrug and leaned against the door he was going to open for them. Just a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

“Why does all of Eureka get to see  _ you _ naked when asked to  _ Live Smart _ and Safe, and then _ I  _ have to think about naked Neil fishing around in the hot springs for smuggled intel in order to get the point across that I should leave evidence extraction to the lab people?” Jack asked, interrupting Nathan’s chiding. “Huh? I’m married to you! I want Naked Nathan incentive not this gelatinous fly tape up my nose and the thought of Neil Baxter poking around _anything_!”

“You get distracted if I’m naked, disgusted if he's naked.” Nathan grinned. “It’s about negative reinforcement right now.”

“Decontamination shower was 100% not nice.” Jack said emphantically.

“I will pass that along to the individuals in charge of it.” Nathan said and Jack smirked at him.

“No complaints about Dr. Stark’s bedside manners though.” Jack said and opened up his phone to call Jo. “I’ll recommend you to my Deputy who has mentioned several times how pretty you are and how much she likes your calendar.” 

“I’m sure she told Henry where she got those chips and he reacted similarly to me and shoved her in the shower to, you know, save her life.” Nathan said and watched Jack’s face as he got a response on the other end of the line.

_ “Oh hey, Carter. Sorry it took me so long to get back with you. I was in the decontamination shower getting all the toxic bits of Neil Baxter washed off of me, and out of my nostrils, since it seems to be a huge breach of protocol to play with frozen dead people in our office.” _

“Yeah, I learned that too.”

_ “The gel? Up the nose?” _

“Yeah, awful.” Jack said and ran his hand through his wet hair. “I’m sorry, I really thought he was too frozen to be a problem.”

_ “When he’s left frozen, the answer is yes. Melted or defrosted body is bad. ” _

“Noted.” Jack said and Nathan winked at him. Oh, he was going to have  _ so _ much paperwork to do because of this. “So anything on those memory cards? Please tell me there was something worth going through that shower experience for?”

_ “There is. You were right, Neil Baxter was smuggling out information. A lot of it.” _

“Thank God.” Jack said. “Ok, bring it to GD and Nathan and I will put WeatherMan Pete in the interrogation room and threaten to use this decontamination shower on him if he doesn’t come clean on why he ‘accidentally’ froze a guy who just so happened to be stealing stuff from GD.”

_ “Sounds good. Henry is packing up now. We’ll see you in twenty minutes.” _

Jack hung up and looked at Nathan. “Let’s go ask WeatherMan Pete of there is a chance of premeditated murder.”

“Let me pull him out of the lab under the guise of discussing his own project, I don’t need anyone getting sidelined by his absence or questioning his dedication right now.” Nathan said and opened the door. Just what he needed another security breach with high ranking officials from Washington roaming his halls.


	105. All in the Cards

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 105

**All in the Cards**

* * *

  
  


“Don’t you look adorable in your new coveralls!” Jack said as Jo and Henry arrived and his Deputy was wearing a pair of Kim’s coveralls from Henry’s Garage. He smiled and pointed at her chest. “Henry even made you a Velcro name tag that says Deputy! You definitely have to keep that for next time we have a ghost haunting my husband.”

“No such thing as ghosts.” Nathan chirped.

“Thanks, Sheriff Sporty Spice.” Jo said and yanked on the hood on his jacket and choked him a little. “I’d still like to never feel ectoplasm in my nose ever again.”

Jack coughed when she let go of his hood. “We should definitely request Ghostbusters for movie night at Spencer’s someday.”

“And give these people ideas about supersizing _ giant, white, harmless icons _ ?” Jo asked.

“Is  _ that  _ where Taggart got the idea for Fudgey?” Jack asked and looked at everyone in the room then focused on Nathan. “He made  _ your sperm _ into the Stay Puft Marshmallow man?”

“No, that was phase 2.” Henry said and then went to the computer and put the most concerning memory card into the reader.

“What?” Jack asked but by then everyone was focused on the movie on the screen. “Oh god!  _ What the hell is that! _ ”

“The slingshot cam.” Jo announced. “That would be what all those attachments were for.”

“No!” Jack said and she nodded and laughed. “NO!!!”

Jo smacked his arm. “It’s not like we found tentacles or anything.”

“If you two are done chatting about official police business,” Nathan interrupted and pointed to the screen. “Henry is trying to show you that the video has code embedded in the amateur porn.”

“That’s not all that’s embedded…”Jack mumbled and this time got his other arm smacked by Nathan. “I’m paying attention!”

“Neil Baxter was basically filming his ‘sessions’ over the information he was smuggling out of Global Dynamics or receiving from his lovers.” Henry explained and glanced behind him as both Jo and Jack giggled.

“How deep does this go?” Nathan asked and both Jack and Jo started laughing. He glared at his husband and Jack cleared his throat trying to cover up his immature response.

Henry chose his next words carefully. “Not as far as Section 5, that I can tell, however…there is a lot of Section 5 material that has been distributed to other departments thanks to Warren King trying to speed along some projects.”

“Super.” Nathan said. “I’ll have the morgue melt down Baxter’s body and look for more evidence.”

“OK...I’m being serious now.” Jack said and waved his hand. “That’s _a lot_ of memory cards and Jo and I were interrupted before we could get to Cooler 4 and 5. Either Neil was super busy this week, or he stuffed all that into himself to get it out of Eureka ASAP. Maybe he really was soaking because he was sore, he was basically a tech drug mule.”

“The dates on these go back a few months.” Henry said.

“Which means, you scared the shit out of him.” Jack said to Nathan who quirked an eyebrow. “He was packing up his stuff and getting out of here, because you’re the new director.”

“And you’re the new Sheriff.” Nathan said and leaned on the desk. “Who’s been quite active in rooting out Eureka’s underlying issues since your arrival.”

“Let’s hold off on interrogating the WeatherMan.” Jack said and pointed to the screen. “Can we get a list of all the people Neil got information from? Also all of his trips out of Eureka, like if he went to Africa to watch his monkeys. Let’s see if he had another way of getting information out other than in himself. Let’s find out how things are leaking out and plug that hole…”

Jo snorted and they all looked at her. “Sorry.”

Jack smiled at her. This was a pretty ridiculous situation but it was ridiculous enough to be written off, which made it a brilliant way to cover up everything. “This is all going to be easier if we figure out who is getting the information then we can back trace it all and corral the people involved.”

“If you think Neil Baxter was targeted by the Weather guy, I have to say that he strikes me as someone who was sick of not being taken seriously and this was a way to get back at the community who should have respected him.” Jo said. “If Neil was getting ready to run, someone might have just froze him in place because it was easier to get a frozen body out of Eureka than a bunch of internal memory cards. Even inside of him, the exit scans would have detected it all as he was leaving town.”

“You want to take a crack at him?” Jack saw that look, the look that said she was going to get revenge for all his unreliable weather predictions. 

“Yeah. I think he’ll crack.” She said and cracked her knuckles. “I just have to question his record of providing less than accurate weather reports for, oh, the last few years that I’ve lived here.”

“Ok, you take him and I’ll see what I can dig up on the parents.” Jack said and then pointed to Henry and Nathan. “Keep us updated on what you find. We’re going to go change back into our superhero uniforms.”

“Be careful.” Nathan said. “It’s looking like we have a mole in Eureka and that person has already taken action against one of their own. I doubt Pete Puhlman was any more than a pawn.”


	106. Swept Under The Rug

_Dissolved_

Chapter 106

**Swept Under the Rug**

* * *

“It’s going to be nice to change back into normal clothes.” Jack said as he came out of the dry cleaners with Jo. 

“Why did you make me go in there with you again?” Jo asked.

“Your uniform needed to be cleaned too.”

“But _why_ was it necessary to point out that your uniform was contaminated in the line of duty, along with mine, by a dead body?”

Jack knew she wasn’t going to stop asking, so as soon as the Baker twins roller-bladed past and looked their ‘casual clothes’ over, he answered, “Because Nathan and I have brought her _a lot_ of stained clothing in the last two weeks and I did _not_ want her associating the dead body stains with all the other bodily fluid stains.”

“Good to know.” Jo said and they walked across the street together, wearing their borrowed clothes and utility belts over them as if it was any other day. Things definitely were different with Carter in charge. 

Jack looked over at Cafe Diem as they walked and noticed Beverly’s car was parked in front of the restaurant. Oh that was _definitely_ not a coincidence. As they walked into the office he was not at all surprised to see they had a visitor. “Oh Beverly! What a surprise! Look, as much as I love talking to you, we can not talk here do to a leaky dead body and a pending cleaning.”

“Lucky for me I took this label off the door when I came in, saying it had been cleaned already.” Beverly said and held up her evidence that the Sheriff’s Office was, indeed, open.

“Well, if this is police business we will need to change into our police clothes.” Jack said and looked at Jo. “Ladies first.”

Jo knew when she was being excused and she wondered if this was a personal conversation about Nathan or maybe Abby. Beverly was keen on dropping in on people to catch them off guard. She went to the supply closet to get her spare uniform. 

“So, what happened to warrant a uniform change?” Beverly asked and pointed to their clothes. “And does it have to do with the leaky body?”

“Yes.” Jack said and ran his hands over his GD branded gym clothes. “Nathan and Henry got super protective and apparently I have to be careful I don’t let frozen people defrost. Valuable lessons are learned every day I am here.”

“Neil Baxter?” Beverly asked and tilted her head. “Was there a malfunction with the coolers?”

“They didn’t seal right.” Jack said and sat down on his desk. “Did you come all the way out here to ask me about Neil Baxter and his frozen or liquid state?”

Jo grabbed her uniform and closed the door. Jack didn’t leave out the part about evidence because he was embarrassed, he left it out because he didn’t want her to know. She could tell by his tone of voice. So she walked to the bathroom and offered another piece of information to corroborate his story, even though he was lying. “Ok, it probably cracked open when I shoved it out of the way so we could start dance lessons. My bad.”

Jack turned to her to hide his look of surprise. She didn’t need to have his back on this, but she did. “Yeah, well….you don’t have to tell everyone about that.”

“Why not? It’s cute.” Jo said and went into the bathroom and closed the door. 

“Anyhow, yeah, a baggie of Baxter leaked.” Jack said and pointed over at the floor. Might as well keep digging with the lie, Beverly didn’t look like she was buying it.“Must have been a sharp piece of him, punctured the bag and when he melted it just squirted out.”

“Why was he even here?” Beverly asked. “Why did you sign his body out of the morgue?”

“Because telling people their son is Frosty the Dead Man is way easier with the body present.” Jack said. Yeah, he was going to really have to bullshit his way out of this one. “Why are you asking? We’re not mentally compromised because some dead guy might have tried to kills us with his body fluids.”

“The Baxters knew I was seeing Neil.”

“Oh?” Jack asked and raised his eyebrows.

“No like _that_ , Sheriff.” She said. “They found my business card on his fridge and called me from his home number. I answered because I haven’t taken him out of my client database yet and the call was not bounced to voicemail. They allowed the shock of the news of their son’s death to finally hit them and needed a consoling word or two.”

“But they aren’t on Neil’s insurance.” Jack pointed out since she had tucked tail and ran when she found out he wasn’t on Nathan’s and hadn’t taken GD insurance yet. 

“A _word or two_ , which I believe you got for free as well. Perhaps more.” She said and smiled at him. Carter really didn't miss details.

“So...what can I do for you because I _ don’t  _ have much free time right now?” Jack said and when she looked offended he rolled his eyes and walked to the closet to dismiss her. “Look. I wasn’t planning on the Baxter’s showing up. I wasn’t planning to have to take a really invasive shower at GD either. I have some work to get done and I really really need to get off work on time today because Zoe’s play is tonight. Big night. Can’t be late. Won’t miss it. So if this can wait, it has to.”

“I was just stopping by to see if I could offer any support. That is all.” Beverly said. 

“Ok, thanks. We got it handled.” Jack said and pulled his uniform out as Jo opened the bathroom door. He watched Beverly leave and looked over at Jo, giving her a thank you smile. “Um, hey, can you sweep up? It looks like they might have shaken some dust loose from the ceiling fans when they cleaned the floor.”

She wanted to hit him for suggesting he clean the damned floor but he was looking at her with a pleading look. Then he reached towards his desk and his recording device out of his desk drawer and waved it in the air. He wanted her to sweep for _recording devices_? “I thought I told you to never treat me like your assistant again.”

“Sorry.” Jack said and went into the bathroom confident she understood him and gave her an apologetic smile. “I forgot, must be a side effect of having my brain cleaned with gel. Let me change and see if that helps me think clearer.”


	107. Clean Sweep

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 106

**Clean Sweep**

* * *

“We’ve got a pest problem.” Jo said as soon as Jack came out of the bathroom. 

Jack watched her hold up four fingers and reacted accordingly: with the ‘Are you fucking kidding me? FOUR bugs?’ look. Jo nodded. Ok, that was going to be something they had to leave in place to avoid tipping off Beverly or whoever left them there. “They move in _fast_ when you spill the slightest amount of people juice on the ground.”

“Carter, can we please stop calling it that?”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to find out who we call to get rid of them. For now, how about we take this on the road. I gotta check in on Nathan’s car at Henry’s.” Jack said and wondered how to tackle this issue. He needed his office, he couldn't keep having to censor himself in here. Too much happened on a daily basis.

Jo nodded. Jack was really quick on his feet. She honestly would hate to be the person he was tracking because there were many facets to him even she didn’t expect. Unfortunately she had to follow up with a question because not saying anything would be a dead giveaway to whoever was listening that they were on to them. “You need my help with that?”

“I, uh…” Jack felt like he was in some kind of improv play. Of course he needed a reason to drag Jo out of the office with him. “Also wanted to stop by Taggart’s to talk about Fudgey. I need answers, Jo. Especially with Abby in town.”

Jo gave him a dramatic sigh and said “You want me to hold your hand through the presentation or just distract Tag so you can cycle through it on your own?”

Jack smiled as they walked to the door. “I want you to tag in when he gets too damned intense and I can’t handle the tears. Or the whale milk.”

“Deal.” She said and they left the building and she took a deep breath as they walked to their cars. “This is all stacking up to be huge. Why didn’t you tell me about Beverly?”

“It was just a gut instinct.” Jack admitted and got out his phone to call Nathan. “I have no evidence, just a feeling. I told Nathan and I felt bad enough about that because I didn’t want him getting protective over nothing. Same with you. I have my suspicions but I’m able to admit I might be biased against her.”

“I’ve always felt she had a very dangerous position in town, having exclusive access to everyone when they open themselves up to a professional for help.” She said as they stopped by their cars. “Been here for years too, so she knows a lot of dirt and has a long-term relationship with almost all of Eureka: past and present. I don’t care about her clearance, that doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. All your eggs in one basket kinda thing.”

“I gotta agree with you there.” Jack said and shook his head. “She uses that information against her clients too easily, I’ve had her overlap Nathan’s previous sessions with Allison a few times too many and I’ve only been here two weeks. All this talk about keeping Eureka secure and yet she has access to everything and nobody gives her a second thought.”

"So, where does that leave us?"

“I have no evidence, Jo.” Jack said. “Even if she bugged our office, unless she left fingerprints or we have her on security cameras, we can’t prove it.”

“Never had reason to need cameras and Cobb didn’t want GD to be able to hack into a feed for the office.” Jo said and shrugged. “Let’s hope all these memory cards give us a better lead.”

“I’ll call Nathan on the way to Henry’s and see if he can send in an ‘exterminator’ to take care of our bug issue.” Jack said and went to his Jeep. 

“I thought you’d want to leave them in place to avoid alerting whoever was listening to us?”

“Yeah, but I made a big stink about having pests so now I have to do something about them. Maybe he can send someone who can ID those bugs and let us know what we’re dealing with.” Jack said.

“So, I’ll meet you at Henry’s?” Jo asked and he nodded as he put his phone to his ear. 

“Yup. I’m sure he took those cards back to the garage to see what he could get out of them. Nathan doesn’t want them in GD. This is all under the radar.” Jack said and got in the car as Nathan answered. “Listen I have a bug problem in my office, can you send...I don’t know...a guy? Is there a guy for that?”

Nathan’s pause was long and drawn out. When he answered he said, “ _ Yes. They’re called exterminators and you get bugs when you drip melted human on your floors. The morgue has been instructed to not allow you to check bodies out ever again _ .”

Jack smirked. Nathan didn’t sound sarcastic; he sounded annoyed. He knew he wouldn’t call him for something like ants, he knew there was something in this message and it was about this problem they had stumbled on. “Thanks. Does that mean you’ll send someone…”

_ “Yes.” _

Jack nodded. “Ok, I’ll thank you later.”


	108. Speculation

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 107

**Speculation**

* * *

  
  


“That’s…” Henry brought his fist to his mouth as he absorbed what Jack had told him. The Sheriff’s Office was bugged. Beverly had  _ conveniently _ showed up after it was cleaned. Jack had reservations about Beverly already and was really trying to not point a finger at her but his words made him think about years of her convenient appearances. “A very disturbing thought.”

“Look.” Jack ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t want to make accusations, and I’m not. I just have a hard time believing that someone is _always_ present during a disaster and that they just ‘happen’ to be there to help. I am admitting I am put on the defensive with her, I admit she’s got a lot of power over Nathan and I right now because of this mandatory counseling. However, there was just  _ something _ about her during Faraday’s visit when Spencer was naked and paranoid. She called for an emergency session with Nathan and I, Faraday called a helicopter to leave, Spencer was in her living room muttering about aliens and it just all felt like...well….a Plot Device.”

“Plot Device?” Henry asked.

“This device I swear someone has around here that is like a ‘Screenwriter’s Convenient Interruption Device’ or something that just makes things happen to provide the drama around here.” jack said. "I call it the Plot Device now."

“That would be cool.” Henry said and leaned back on his chair and rubbed his face. “However it’s more probable that there is a puppet master pulling the strings and we’ve all been too focused on ourselves to see the danger right under our noses. She has too much access and too much dirt on everyone. ”

“I really don’t want to make this about Beverly, especially since it’s just my gut instinct.” Jack said. Henry had to know though, just like Jo did. Especially since a guy might have died to protect whatever underhanded stuff was going on around Eureka.

“Which has been right.” Jo said and leaned on Henry’s worktable. “And as an outsider you have a different perspective.”

“As a Marshal, I have a very jaded view of a lot of things.” Jack said. “None of this is evidence it’s just…”

Henry got up and went to his grease board and cleared it off. “Stop doubting yourself Jack. Start from the beginning and list every instance in the last two weeks Beverly has shown up at the wrong time. An isolated time period is a great snapshot of what could be happening. ”

Jack sighed and looked at the readings on Henry’s computer screen that indicated that the garage was free of any listening devices or unexplained readings. They even went so far to put their PDAs and phones in a secure box. Henry might seem like a casual guy with a lot of specialties, but he definitely had his workstation set up for top secret work. Maybe he was also predisposed to seeing things a little more jaded too. “Ok, my first time in town she was eavesdropping on my phone call with Abby. Lurked a lot. I would have done the same if a stranger happened upon my secret science town. With Jason Anderson, she seemed to know him and she was pretty happy to have me locked up so she could tell me how going after him was threatening my job and life in Eureka. Um...that stuff with Spencer really can’t be blamed on her because we took him there but she seemed super close to Faraday. It just felt like a set up, me and Nathan in session and then a helicopter landed to pick up the Congressman that Nathan was playing hardball with, which in turn forced him to play a hand he didn’t want to play.”

Henry kept writing things down and then stopped to look at them. Nothing was evidence of any wrongdoing, but it was evidence that Beverly was involved in more than simple therapy. 

“She admitted she was seeing Neil Baxter as a patient, but she sees everyone as a patient.” Jack added.

“Except me.” Jo said. “I’m still Army and I use army therapists.” 

“And I don’t have GD insurance yet so I can only be required to talk to her through marriage counselling.” Jack said and put his hands on his hips. That would be a great reason to listen in to them. “What kind of clearance does she have? Can people talk about projects with her?”

“Yes.” Henry said and capped his marker. “Everything but section 5.”

“See, nothing's wrong with that either.’ Jo said. “Everyone has a high stress job and it’s not unwise to have them evaluated by an individual outside their work environment. Especially around here.”

“Wait.” Jack said and pointed at Henry. “There _is_ a section 5 project Beverly is doing mandatory evaluations on. That was by order of Faraday.”

“Kim’s project.” Henry said, recalling that she had mentioned it. “The Artifact.”

“Which sounds like a big deal.” Jack said. “Everything’s a big deal though.”

“So we really don’t have much evidence other than…” Jo looked at the pile of memory cards. “What might be on those memory cards.”

“I’m still working on them, there is a lot of information.” Henry said and erased the board. “But I agree we should be cautious with Beverly. She does, and has always, turned up in the wrong place at the right time.”

Jack watched him open up the box with their PDAs and cell phones. He grabbed his phone and saw Nathan had called twice and rolled his eyes because there were also texts asking where he was, why he wasn’t picking up, and to answer ASAP or drones were getting sent out to look for him. He called him back to avoid being hunted down by drones. “Hey, just so you know, you escalate shit way too fast and S.A.R.A.H. gets that from you.”

“ _ Why wouldn’t you answer your phone? _ ” Nathan demanded.

“I am at Henry’s looking at your stupid broken car and my hands were busy.” Jack said and really felt bad about all the lying today. It felt like maybe he got hit with a wave of the Paranoid Machine. He didn't know how secure the phones were and Henry seemed to think they weren't that safe.

“ _ Well, I need to see you at your office. I have a surprise waiting for you _ .” 

“Oh.” Jack said and ran his finger around his collar. “I...didn’t realize...you had a problem about how we were working together on this.”

_ “Not that kind of surprise. Wow, you sound like the threat of revisiting that discussion we had in my office really makes you nervous. What, do you think I want to bend you over your desk now that someone is listening? Fuck you and have it blow out someone’s eardrums when you moan and beg in surround sound? All because you made me worry you were dead because you wouldn’t answer your phone?” _

“Maybe?” Jack said.

“ _ Good to know my demonstration made an impact. _ ”

“Yeah, you impacted things I didn’t expect it to reach.” Jack said and Nathan laughed, that sinister laugh that said he was enjoying his discomfort and recollection of the night in his office. Thankfully Jo and Henry were really more concerned about Nathan talking about this spy problem and not office sex. “Ok, I’ll be there soon.”

“Did he find something?” Jo asked, concerned about Jack’s agitated state when he hung up.

“I think?” Jack said. “He’s being cryptic.”

“Ok, let’s head back to the office then.” Jo said and looked at him as he shook his head.

“No, uh...why don’t you head to Baxter’s place? Use that surveillance stuff to see what his parents are up to. Maybe that infrared camera thing that lets you see the heat signature of bodies moving around the house. See if they’re trashing the place to find something or packing up to leave. I think focusing on them is the most important thing since they’re only here for a few days and need to rush to get Neil out of here. Beverly is going to be a long term investigation. The Baxters, they’re going to be leaving as soon as they get what they want and that something they want might just be Neil’s silicone ice cube tray body. He'll be repackaged and ready to ship within the hour.”

“Got it.” Jo said and cocked her head. “Are you sure you’re OK?”

“Yeah, just…” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. _Just his bastard husband knew how to get him worked up was all. Worst time ever, Nathan._ “Just don’t need this today. I really need to make things go smooth for Zoe’s play and she wants to get her learner’s permit right after school so you need to be back in the office too and our office is SpyWare Station right now.”

“OK, call if you need me.” Jo said and left.

Henry pointed to his screen. “I’ll call if I find anything.”

“Thanks.” Jack said and quickly left to avoid anyone seeing that his back up pants were tight to begin with and now were even more so.


	109. Awkward Interactiona

Dissolved

Chapter 109

Awkward Interaction  
  
  


* * *

Jack drove back to his office and wondered if his entire day was just going to be driving from one location to another. It was something he was accustomed to with his Marshal job, but in Eureka he felt like he got more out of each destination. With his old job he traveled to get to a location where he was needed, here he felt like he found puzzle pieces everywhere he went and he wasn’t appreciating the picture he was piecing together. Something had been going on in Eureka for years and security was nowhere what they boasted about. Whatever was going on here went up pretty high in the government and he wondered for what purpose. He went to pull into his spot at the office and saw it was already occupied by a black sedan, so he parked in Jo’s spot. He got out of his Jeep and saw Nathan leaning on the hood of his car, scrolling through his phone. He tapped the sign in front of him that said ‘Parking for Sheriff’s Department Vehicles ONLY’. “Can’t you read?”

“With as much as I’m doing for the Sheriff’s department these days, I feel like I either need to be deputized or file a change of address form and just move in.”

“Maybe you just want to get arrested.” Jack said and jingled his handcuffs.

“I don’t believe that was the fantasy you were referring to earlier.” Nathan said and smirked as he put his phone away. “Unless you want me to handcuff you to the chair again?”

Jack walked up to him and he didn’t move, just smiled. He got up close and said very quietly, “Why would you turn me on at a time like this?"

"Jack, I didn't say anything on the phone that I implied to be about office sex. You leapt to that conclusion on your own. Maybe you're watching too much porn?" Nathan said with a smile that said that leaning seductively on his car was another matter entirely.

"Not watching the porn. Henry and Jo did." Jack said and drank in the smirk and spark of arousal in his eyes as he said it. This man…was irresistible and truly tested his resolve to remain professional and not give in to every desire to drop his pants around him.

"Maybe you should? It would help you understand where all those fluids came from in your cabin?" Nathan said.

"I'm not watching porn filmed in the cabin you gave me….". Jack trailed off as he thought about the fact that he still didn’t have answers to how _ all _ those fluids got all over everything. Kinky Slingshot or not. He thought he was pretty open minded and creative, especially with Nathan, and even he was stumped at how so much fluid was _everywhere_. 

“Do I want to know what you’re thinking?” Nathan asked and took his hand and squeezed it.

"What if the fluids are some kind of connect-the-dots code? There is no reason Neil and Wendy would be that sloppy, even her blind husband could have seen the writing on the wall if he went to the cabin."

"So you think it was  _ actual writing _ on the wall?"

"Maybe? I don’t think humans are capable of that much _sexual splatter_?" Jack said. "Whales maybe."

"So you want me to stop the cleaning?" Nathan asked as he pulled out his phone and immediately sent a text to the crew to abort their cleaning.

"Yeah.” Jack nodded and wondered how he was going to figure out the code. Maybe he could scan the place with Henry’s imaging pen? This was time-sensitive, he really needed an answer fast. “Do you have some kind of software that will find images or words in a picture? Like a spyware thing that sees encrypted code? Subliminal message...reader? Something that can read in lube and body fluid juices on the walls, ceiling and floors of a log cabin?" 

"I'm not doing cum connect-the-dots with you on my weekend off.” Nathan said and stood up and kissed his husband’s forehead. “At least not someone else’s.”

“I need some help here, that stuff won’t last forever. Surely there has to be  _ a device _ ?” Jack asked. “Are you trying to make me beg?”

“I will write you a program and conveniently I have a solution to  _ all _ your problems. Remember that little surprise I mentioned that was definitely not about office sex?” Nathan smiled and opened the door to the Sheriff’s department. “His name is Andy.”

“I swear to God if this is some Mayberry joke or an invitation to a threesome...you’re not getting that thank you.” Jack said and stepped through the door.

Nathan rolled his eyes and walked in and waited for Jack to react to Deputy Andy.

“Who the hell is this?” Jack asked Nathan as he looked at a smiling guy wearing a Sheriff’s uniform standing in his office. “How the fuck is getting me fired a solution to all our problems?”

“I’m  _ Deputy _ Andy.” The grinning man informed him. Then he opened his mouth and gave a ‘wow’ look as he pointed to the patch on the arm of his uniform that said ’Deputy. Town of Eureka’. 

“Oh my God, you got  _ Jo fired _ ?” Jack screamed and smacked Nathan in the stomach. It hurt. Those abs were armor. 

“I didn't get anybody fired, he’s your new Deputy.” Nathan informed him as Jack shook off his hand. He knew that was coming and braced for it, he hoped he didn’t hurt him. 

“We don’t have the payroll for that.” Jack exclaimed. “You, Mr. Budget Fixation, should know that.”

“He’s a prototype A.I.” Nathan explained and walked over to Deputy Andy to smack him in the head since the open-mouthed look of surprise seemed stuck on his face. That fixed it and allowed the jaw to close and Andy to go back to smiling in a disturbingly happy, but not creepy as hell way. “He’s not getting paid. He’s a robot.”

“I asked for an exterminator not  _ the _ ex-Terminator! I don’t want a robot Deputy,” Jack paused as he walked up to the guy and said, “No offense.”

“None taken, boss.” Andy replied, grin wide as ever.

“He’s a project I was working on for the military.” Nathan said and glanced over at Jack to get his attention. “One I managed to salvage from my lab fire.”

It was Jack’s turn to open his mouth and look shocked. This was a Callister type model!?

“He’s going to need some upgrades and he’s mainly just a receptionist, but he knows all the penal code and GD rules, so he’ll stop you from creating hazmat situations in your office.” Nathan said and then added. “He’s also going to make sure you and Jo get weekends off. For now, field test him and show him the ropes. His programs are pretty expansive, he'll learn as fast as S.A.R.A.H does. Although the interface needs a little work.”

“As in?”

“His reaction calibrations are off.” Nathan said. “However, he did take care of your pest problem.”

Jack looked to Nathan for explanation as Andy started to cry. 

“I disabled four listening devices that were similar to those issued to the C.I.A. in 2009. They had been modified.” Andy sniffled. “Modified by someone in Eureka, most likely, as they have only short range transmitters.”

“Andy, reset reaction.” Nathan said and Andy stopped crying. “Use function: gossip.”

Andy looked at Sheriff Carter and held up his hand to cover his mouth. He eyed Stark suspiciously and then whispered to Carter. “I think it was Douglas Fargo.”

Jack bit his lip and looked at Nathan. Nathan simply shrugged. What the fuck was he supposed to do with this? “Why? Was it shaped like a button?”

“No, it’s an exact replica of his listening devices confiscated by Principal Ewing in 2010.” Andy whispered and nodded empathically.

“Andy, reset secondary reaction.” Nathan sighed. That cause Andy to lock up in the middle of the nod and now his head was tilted back. “Andy: Disable all reactions.”

Jack watched the robot’s face go blank, his head came back down, and he stood upright and rigid. Oh, Nathan was definitely the reason Henry had to make a PSA about killer robots. “Remember, today’s mistake is tomorrow’s unstoppable killing machine.”

Nathan narrowed his eyes at him. “What did Henry tell you?”

“Nothing. I just assumed you were the reason he had to make a public service announcement about killer robots.” Jack said and Nathan rolled his eyes. "And I was right."

“Trust me, he’s safe.” Nathan said and then added. “Just awkward.”

“Around here it’s the awkward that makes it unsafe.” Jack reminded him. “None of these people would be making death machines or decontamination power washer showers if they spent more time with real people.”

“Are you implying that I, the creator of this robot, am awkward and unsafe?”

“You once gave me a lecture about where my prostate was located _while_ you were rubbing it with your dick.” Jack said. “Your dirty bedroom talk can go from pinning me down and complimenting me to telling me in an uncomfortably erotic way to telling me the history of the word testes and how it’s symbolic of us...in like the blink of an eye. You gave someone your sperm and they made a whale! That’s the definition of awkward and unsafe.”

“You...like it.”

“I love it.” Jack clarified. Then he looked at Andy. “Not sure how I feel about him.”

“Andy, enable reactions.”

Jack sighed as the creepy cheery bright eyes grin returned to his new Deputy’s face. “Really?”

“You’ll figure it out.” Nathan said and leaned over to kiss his husband goodbye. “I gotta get back to work, so enjoy Sheriffing together! The office is clear, Andy disabled the listening devices with a subsonic blast that fried their speakers. Left them in place though. See you later!”

Jack watched him leave and looked at Andy who was still smiling. There was a long uncomfortable silence and he just gave in and accepted this was his new pet robot or robot bodyguard. Or both. With Nathan it was so hard to tell. “So...uh….want to go look at some modern art on the walls of my cabin and tell me what you think?”

“Absolutely, boss!”


	110. Chapter 110

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 110

**Cabin Pressure**

* * *

  
  


“Wow!” Andy said with a look of awe on his face that was borderline childish glee. “Look at all that FMH Lube all over the walls! You and Dr. Stark have a very playful sex life! Definitely way more athletic and artistic than what he and Dr. Blake used to have. By miles! And if you connected all this it would collectively be about 1.2 miles worth of Banana, Bubblegum and Spearmint flavored FMH lube!”

Jack watched Andy lock up again, his mouth hanging open and a ‘ahhhhhh’ sound coming out of his mouth. He texted Nathan, ‘This is not helpful’ before going over and smacking Andy in the head. “Never mind why you know about Nathan and Ally…”

“Because I was in the basement lab and have great hearing.” Andy replied and winked. The eye shut and didn’t open back up.

“You were in _Nathan’s basement_ and listened in to what happened _in their bedroom_?” Jack asked. 

With one eye closed Andy replied, chipper as ever. “I listened, I watched infrared and I learned. I want to learn.”

“Learn  _ voyeurism _ ?” Jack asked. He tapped Andy on the eyelid to see if that would help him stop looking like a pirate. It didn’t. “Andy, disable reactions.”

“Sorry boss, I only obey Dr. Stark.” Andy said. 

Jack quickly texted. ‘I hate you’ to Nathan and smiled at Andy. “Let’s file that information away for later and focus now on the excessive splatter on the walls. Do you notice anything? Like a pattern? Maybe Morse code?”

“Ohhh..” Andy said and looked at the wall. “It would help if I could use both eyes.”

That got Jack to call his husband. 

“ _ Yes? _ ”

“Your robot needs to hear you command him to reset his eyelid so he can see the filthy walls of my house where we will not be having sex anytime soon.”

“ _ Why would you hate me for giving you a one of a kind law enforcement robot who is a walking database and scanning device? You wanted a device. They’re all wrapped up in a once in lifetime, glitchy robot. _ ”

Oh the sarcasm just dripping across the airwaves. Nathan was just in a playful mood today which made him even more excited about his weekend. “Why are you reading texts while you’re driving?”

“ _ They are read to me by my phone _ .  _ It’s called hands free. It's hardly new _ .”

“Reset the robot, please, smart ass.” Jack said and held out the phone to Andy’s ear. 

“ _ Andy, reset reactions. _ ”

Jack watched Andy’s eye not open. He took his phone back. “Didn’t work.”

“ _ It’s a mechanical issue. Smack him.” _

“Real technical. Great technical support you provide for your robot. I see who Fargo models himself after, Dr. Stark. ” Jack said and smacked Andy in the middle of the forehead. The eye opened. “Hey, it worked!”

“ _ I’ll work on him next week. I promise you he has the capability to help you, even if he’s got some quirks that need to be ironed out. _ ”

“He’s telling me about your sex life with Ally.”

“ _ Sounds like he’s having some path issues. He’s trying to relay information he knows with what you’re asking. He's also trying to bond. You need to ask differently. Unless you’re asking about my sex life with my ex-wife?” _

“We walked in the cabin, he looked at the walls, told me we were an artistic and athletic couple and that you and Allison had a boring sex life in comparison because he listened and watched from the basement.”

_ “Yeah, he told her that too. Not about us, obviously, but implied her minimal participation was a major factor in her lack of satisfaction. Needless to say, Andy was no longer welcome in the house and I was applying for an off-site lab.” _

“Nathan, I don’t want him watching  _ us _ from the basement either.” Jack said.

“ _ Jack, I love you. I know what you want and don't want. I know you really have major concerns about devices that are listening in to every sound you make. I would not do that to you. I’ll do a lot to you this weekend, however, because you’re seriously distracting me right now.” _

“While driving? Nathan, just hang up! You already wrecked one car this week.”

_ “No, distracting me from this Pentagon test today and the massive amount of my own work that needs to be done. I gave you the next best thing to having me there. I gave you Andy because I want more than anything to just spend the day with you. However, I have to work." _

“A robot who knows about your sex life and only obeys you.” Jack said dryly. “I bet he’s a nipple biter too.”

_ “He watched us because he was trying to study humans, much like how Baxter was studying primates to understand humans." _

_ " _ Not any better. _ " _

_ "Jack, he’s secure. He's not a sex doll.  _ _ H _ _ e will record the information since I can’t be there to do it myself. He will give you information you would be asking of me. He will protect you from anybody trying to stop you from investigating this. He will also be incredibly awkward and scare off anyone from disturbing you while you work. I would love to work with you on this, but to be able to join you for Zoe’s play I have to have Andy stand in for me.” _

“I know. I appreciate it, I’d just appreciate it more if he worked properly.”

_ “If he worked right he wouldn't be a prototype laying around my off-site lab and he certainly wouldn’t be available to the Sheriff’s Department for trial. He would also be reporting to GD and not me. He’d also not be something I could open up and tinker with at home with, say, a Tesla student who just found out she was destined for the field or robotics.” _

“I hate you,” Jack said. “For being so perfect.”

_ “Just for you.” _

“Is this why you daydream about time travel? Because you have to time travel to fit all this into your day?”

“ _I daydream about us in different scenarios because your perspective tends to make me see things from a different angle even if you’re just my mental simulation Jack_.”

“You didn’t deny the time travel.”

_ “Well that’s because my travel time is up and I just arrived at my destination. Be patient with Andy, he’s been in storage a while and basically was left in the lab all this time because everything thinks he’s old junk.” _

Jack smiled. He was _really_ looking forward to this weekend. “Ok, go save the world and Eureka. Andy and I will work on this.”

_ “Love you.” _

“Love you too.” Jack hung up and looked at his newest partner. Overly happy grin and all. “Ok, how about now? Can you see the walls?”

“Yes.” Andy said, tears started to drip down his cheeks even though he was frozen in an expression of absolute bliss. “I see true love and it’s so beautiful. I see why you are so stimulated that you need so much lubricant. I may need a little to replenish my tear ducts.”

“Can you read _ the walls _ ?” Jack said and Andy kept crying.

“Yes.” Andy smiled and looked around the slick surfaces and grinned. Tears streamed down his face. “And the floor and ceiling.”

“What do they say?” Jack asked and now was worried he might have to find lubricant to oil Andy’s eyes since he was now stuck in crying mode.

“There appear to be plans for a memory removing device?” Andy said. “The Banana flavored lube shows the schematics for a handheld device. The Bubblegum flavor is instructions for the computer chip that controls it and the Spearmint flavor is the frequency of the EM burst required to disrupt short term memory recording. That is, if I’m reading this right. It looks like the work of Henry Deacon. Ohhh...so that’s why you needed three flavors?”

“No Andy, _just no_.” Jack said and rubbed his temple. “Nothing against Henry, but just no. And Nathan and I _did not_ do this.”

“Ok.” Andy said. “I’m being awkward, aren’t I?”

“Yeah you are.” Jack said and looked him in the eye. The tears stopped but now his eyes were getting less glossy. “Do you have a way to email that or download the data? We need to get that to Henry.”

Andy tapped his own head which caused his eyelids to stop working. “All up here. I can plug into a computer with my finger and transmit information. If Dr. Stark allows me to.”

“OK, did you get everything on the walls?” Jack said and then rephrase that. “Did you _record_ everything on the walls.”

“Walls, ceiling and floors. I scanned it all.” Andy said. 

“So if your eyes are shut does that mean they’re not going to dry out?” Jack asked. 

“Yes!”

“Great. Let’s visit Henry and maybe he’ll have the right oil for your eyes since all I have on me is a lube credit card and I genuinely don’t need to get a lecture about ruining your optics because I squirted sex lube in your eyes.”

“That is a great decision! The lube would ruin my expensive optic system and you would probably have to watch Dr. Stark change out my eyeballs. That’s never pleasant.” Andy said.

“Can you walk to the car or do you need to hold my hand?” Jack asked and Andy started waving his hand around in the air searching for the offered human contact. He reluctantly grabbed it and Andy started crying again. He rolled his eyes. So this was what his life was going to be like married to Dr. Nathan Stark. “Andy, follow behind me I don’t want you to slip on the floor.” 


	111. Hiding in Plain Sight

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 111

**Hiding in Plain Sight**  
  


* * *

“Henry?”

“Jack?”

“Marco!”

“Who is  _ that _ ?” Henry asked.

“You’re supposed to answer Polo.” 

“No, Andy,  _ not now _ .” Jack snapped as Henry opened the door to his workspace at the garage. The sign was on the door that said ‘Out to Lunch’ but Jack knew that was just because he had locked the door and was working on their secret project. Henry looked amused, like this wasn’t the first time he’d seen Andy. He gave him a long-suffering smile and said, “Henry.”

“NOT NOW!” Andy bellowed.

Jack thumped his head on the door jam. Andy was like having a toddler all over again. Oh….oh no….Nathan didn’t…..“Oh  _ my God _ .”

Henry burst into laughter. He wasn’t sure what was more amusing: Jack’s reaction, Jack holding a robot’s hand, or the sudden reappearance of A.N.D.Y. but this time in a Deputy’s uniform. “It’s good to see you again, Andy.”

“I can’t see. My eyes are closed." Andy informed him. "In addition, I cried and emptied out my tear duct reservoir and Sheriff Carter didn’t want to squirt me in the eye with a lube credit card he has because it might cause damage and then Dr. Stark would have to replace my eyeballs.”

“This is my fault.” Jack said and rolled his forehead on the door jam to look at Henry. “This morning, I told Nathan I couldn’t wait to have kids with him and he said ‘Be careful what you wish for’. Look.  _ Look _ at what I wished for.  _ Look _ at what my asshole husband did to me.”

Henry opened the door for them while he laughed and said nothing to deny that Nathan most definitely  _ would _ do this as both a gesture of his love as well as a way to amuse himself. “Well, let’s get a look at you, Andy, and see if we can’t fix your eyes.”

Jack led his robot Deputy into the shop by the hand and then directed him over to Henry’s workstation. As soon as the door closed he said, “Andy also has some information to share with you.”

“Not without Dr. Stark’s permission.” Andy said in a sing-song voice.

Jack rolled his eyes and called his husband while Henry got his computer cables ready to hook Andy up, giggling the entire time. Henry knew Nathan was like this, which made him wonder how many times he had given people robots. Nathan picked up and, before he could talk, Jack said, “Hey,  _ sweetheart _ , just a reminder that I hate you and if this is what I get for saying I was excited to have kids with you this morning I’m going to let Taggart recreate Jurassic Park out of  _ my sperm _ and leave you here to raise the kids while I go back to working for the Marshals.” 

“ _ Dinosaurs are not mammals. _ ” Nathan said with a laugh. 

Oh Nathan was in rare form. Jack hated that he loved him more for it. “Tell your robot to let Henry extract his data, please?”

“ _ Don’t make it sound so dirty.” _

“What is with you today?” Jack asked. 

_ “You got me thinking about the weekend when you showed up all horny at your office after watching porn. I'm a little eager to get to it." _

“I don’t feel bad about that at all right now.” Jack said and tried to stay on topic. Nathan's voice was even more sexy right now which didn't help him. “Please tell Andy to let Henry see what he found. Laugh while you can, you’re going to be pissed in a minute.”

_ “Fine. Put me on speaker.”  _

Jack did as requested and set the phone down. “Ok, you’re on speaker, behave.”

“ _ Or what, you’ll spank me? _ ”

Jack shook his head and Henry snorted. Nathan wasn’t at all embarrassed to say that. 

“That would explain some of the lubricant splatter on the living room wall and TV. “ Andy chirped and then made an awkward tiger growl. “Spicy Siracha Hot Sauce Flavor!”

Jack sighed and looked at Henry who raised his eyebrows. “At the cabin. At Wendy Whitticus’s sex cabin.”

“ _ That’s now the Sheriff’s cabin _ .” Nathan announced.

“That’s now a cabin you can have cleaned, Dr. Stark, husband of mine.” Jack growled.

“Will do.” Nathan said and cleared his throat. “ _ Andy: permission to allow Dr. Deacon access to your hard drive, granted. _ ”

“Yay!” Andy said and stretched his arm out. “Pull my finger!”

Jack was going to yell at Nathan but then Henry did pull the robot’s finger and a USB type drive appeared. Seemed...an interesting place to put that. As Henry plugged him in he got him caught up on the situation. “So, in summary, I took Andy back to Wendy Whitticus’s cabin because that was a lot of lube splatter on the walls and I thought it was a bit excessive. Even for as horny as Eureka is turning out to be. I thought it might have another purpose so I asked Andy to find a pattern in all of it and he did.”

_ “Even without me writing a program? Good for you Andy! Way to adapt!” _

“Thank you, Dr. Stark. However the images were very easy to read considering they were layered in colored flavored lube: yellow, magenta and green. I simply rendered an image with each color as a layer and each layer provided a very very clear picture of a device.” Andy replied, smile just bright as the sun.

“ _ What device? _ ” Nathan asked.

“Son of bitch!” Henry exclaimed. “My memory wiper.”

“ _ Huh. _ ” Nathan said. “ _ How recent was that lube applied, Andy? _ ”

“Last week!” Andy said cheerily. 

“Nathan, I need to bring Kim in on this.” Henry said as he stared at the plans on his screen and ran his hand over his face. 

_“Whatever you need, Henry.”_ Nathan said. _“Eureka has a major leak and we need to find where it’s coming from and where it’s going. I’ll do what I can here, I already have a lot of reviews pending and it won’t raise alarm if I add more limiters to projects that were started after I left. I’ll talk to Mansfield.”_

“What if he’s part of it?” Henry asked. “What if this is all a way for the government to keep an eye on Eureka?”

“From what I’ve seen in the last three weeks, you guys are most definitely  _ not _ being watched by anyone with an iota of concern about how Eureka might just accidentally end the world.” Jack said. “Even Sheriff Cobb, military intelligence, acted like he just came home to a kid’s house party where the house was on fire and the basement flooded with beer and just said ‘this better be clean when I come back’ and left for his vacation. There is no ‘government secret shopper’ in your midst, at least not one who does their job.”

_ “It’s technically Ally’s job and she purposely turns a blind eye to what happens here to avoid having Eureka shut down.” _ Nathan sighed.  _ “I agree with Jack though, this is someone using Eureka as a personal gold mine for harvesting technology and they are a double agent.” _

“It has to be Beverly.” Jack said. “Your people love their jobs too much. I don’t see anyone here who is willing to jeopardize what Eureka offers them for their science projects. She has the access, she has the profession that would be paid for instead of included in government insurance. So her benefits have to come from what she has access to and it's everyone in Eureka.” 

“True. If they were after money, they’d be working in the private sector.” Henry summed it up. “We’re all government employees here, we’re not making millions. Most people live and work in Eureka because what we have access to here is a trade off for what we would have to pay for out in the real world. Some do it because they understand what we do here is too dangerous to be on the market for sale.”

_ “Alright, I’ll get the cabin cleaned. I’ll add more restrictions on my end. We’ll start closing the walls in and see what happens. I’ll leave Mansfield out for now, just in case. I don’t need him having an extreme reaction to this and shutting us down. Gotta go.” _

Jack reached over and tapped his phone off when Nathan hung up. He sighed and looked at Henry who looked pensive. “Just another day in Eureka, right?”

“You’re more right than you know.” Henry said. “This has been going on for years. It’s no different than what Jason did to Kim, stealing little bits of information piece-by-piece over the course of years.”

“But eventually we caught him.”

“ _You_ caught him.” Henry reminded Jack and pointed to his computer screen. “Just like you caught on to _them_.” 

“Do you think…” Jack hesitated to say it because it sounded so egotistical and he wasn’t one to make things about him. “Do you think that's why I was brought here? Do you think...Cobb knew something was going on?”

“He never liked how Eureka was run, he certainly made sure that he didn’t talk to Beverly and that Jo didn’t either.” Henry said. “Very pro-Army, but in hindsight it could have been more.”

“I need to talk to him.” Jack said. “He threw me into this job with no more than a folder of information about Fargo pressing buttons and….”

“And?” Henry said as Jack seemed to hit on another clue.

“What if that list was something more? I never did check into the cases he listed and if Fargo pressed a button on something secret he shouldn’t have been able to list classified information, right? Someone would have dismissed that as 'haha, Fargo pressing buttons! Just another Tuesday!' just like the 'oh lube everywhere and porn from Neil Baxter, what else is new?'. Hide it in plain sight, people look right past it.”

“In theory.” Henry said. “However Cobb was very old school. He wouldn’t trust someone he just met with information he’d been collecting for years. If anything, he would have trusted Jo more.”

“He was protective of her.” Jack said. “Something like this could have ruined her career.”

“No, something like this would have gotten her transferred out of Eureka and back into the field.” Henry clarified. “And by field I mean a warzone. Jo is still Army. It’s would be very easy to make her disappear if someone got wind she was investigating something. Nobody would question it, orders would just get passed down and she would get shuffled off to another part of the world. You, however, saw through things here. You had the skills to track down and investigate.”

“I was married to Nathan Stark.” Jack said. “He had to do a background check on me, he had to know that. He knew if I came here that Nathan would probably follow and that someone in the Sheriff’s department would  _ finally  _ have the ear of the director of GD. I need to talk to him.”

“Let’s start with the clues he left you, you have to assume that someone is watching you now. Suddenly running off to talk to Bill Cobb would be very odd.” Henry said and Jack nodded.

“Yes. Um...can you fix Andy’s eyes so I can take him back to the office with me and look at that paperwork?” Jack asked. “He’s my ex-terminator.” 


	112. Things Base and Vile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't plan for any of this subplot, it just happened.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 112

**Things Base and Vile**

* * *

  
  


“So what are we looking for, boss?” Andy asked as he leaned over the Sheriff’s shoulder and watched him go through his desk. 

Jack was happy Henry managed to fix a few ‘quirks’ in Andy’s personality for him. His body was still glitchy because he had been in storage for a year, but Henry said the AI issues were a quick fix. He implied that Nathan could have fixed them but was probably leaving them for someone else, possibly a beginner robotics student, to find: meaning Zoe. Nathan was super excited to share his robotics passion with Zoe and he hoped his kid realized that part of the bargain of being a family meant she had to endure this ‘hobby’ side of Nathan too. “We’re looking for a folder. You were there Andy, you were part of the conversation.”

“Oh yes. You said paperwork.” Andy winked at him. “Oh I get it, you weren’t talking about doing your backlogged paperwork, you were talking about the notes.”

Ok, so there were still some ‘glitches’. Andy was still learning how he worked, it was all good. It was going to be Zoe’s problem soon. Jack pulled out the folder he kept in the bottom drawer and dropped it on the desk, covering up his own contribution of ‘pushed button on pool safety bubble machine during family cookout’ with his hand. “Ignore that last one, it was my addition.”

“Wow! Dr. Fargo really has a thing for buttons.” Andy said. "They are pretty enticing." 

“Do you see anything?” Jack asked. “Do the dates or projects ring a bell? Maybe cross reference them with patents or some dictator in a foreign country using weather to kill people?”

“Oh!” Andy said. “You think I have access to GD’s mainframe. I don't. I can take pictures and analyse the pictures, but I can’t connect to those servers to look at these projects.”

“ _ I _ can take pictures.” Jack said and narrowed his eyes at him. “I can also call Fargo or S.A.R.A.H. and get the information myself, so how are you helping me?"

“I checked for spyware. Your office is clean.” Andy said. “And I record this information for Dr. Stark.”

“Record this for Dr. Stark.” Jack said and looked Andy in the eye. “I can fucking read, Nathan, I don’t need a robot or phone to read to me.”

“You two are very sarcastic and well suited to each other. It’s a delight to watch you interact.” Andy chuckled. “I will message this to his phone for you. I don’t have a phone. Can I use your phone?”

“No.” Jack picked up his phone and called Jo. She picked up, and before she could answer he said. “How is my favorite Deputy?.”

“ _ I’m your only deputy. _ ”

“Not anymore.” 

_ “What?” _

“Nathan got his old robot out of the closet and gave him to me.” Jack said and looked at Andy’s bright smile. 

_ “Which robot?” _

“You say that like there were many robots.”

“ _ Oh Carter, one of these days we need to get you caught up on everything that your man did in Eureka before you got here. So which robot is it? _ ”

“Andy.” Jack answered. 

_ “Great. Does he have skin?” _

“Why…. _ why _ wouldn't he?” Jack asked and looked Andy over. 

_ “That’s an improvement from the last time I saw him. Well, at least he’s just awkward and doesn’t have weapons. Unlike Tiny. _ ”

“Who’s Tiny?” Jack asked and then shook his head. “Nevermind. I just wanted to check in with you because I’ve had some developments and I want to take Andy over to meet S.A.R.A.H. Can you meet me at the bunker? Maybe put what you’re doing on ice?”

Jo snorted. “10-4.”

Jack was so happy they had bonded already or else this day would have been a lot more difficult. He laughed at his own joke.  _ Putting things on ice. Hahah… Sorry Neil. _ “Let’s go to the bunker, Andy!”

"You drive around Eureka, a lot. Have you considered taking a class in inefficiency?" Andy asked.

"It's how I work, Andy. Get used to it and get in the car."

* * *

_ “Welcome home, Sheriff Carter! Oh, you bought a guest!” _

“I did.” Jack said and noticed the look of childish glee returned to Andy’s face. “Meet Andy. He’s Nathan’s…”

_“I am aware of who Andy is.”_ S.A.R.A.H. said. _“Fargo spoke of him. He’s been inside me before.”_

“What?” Jack asked. Talk about awkward AI. 

“I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing about you, S.A.R.A.H.” Andy said and looked around. “You’re quite different from B.R.A.D.”

“You met  _ B.R.A.D _ .?” Jack asked with alarm. 

“Yes!” Andy said. “I was built to be B.R.A.D.’s adversary! He and I had many terrible, terrible interactions in the very house as I tried to outsmart him. Like a painful chess match.”

“Oh that can’t be good.” Jack said. 

“But you’re not him, in any way shape or form.” Andy said to the ceiling. “Look at you, a beautiful SmartHouse who managed to gain the trust of the skeptical, technologically impaired, Sheriff!”

_ “Thank you, Andy. I pride myself on providing for my family and putting them at ease. _ ” S.A.R.A.H. said. and then announced, “ _ Deputy Lupo is at the door! _ ”

Jack thought he heard that flirty voice she only reserved for Nathan. This was going to be weird if she and Andy hit it off. “Let her in.”

Jo walked in and smiled at them. “Andy, glad to see you’re in better shape than last time we met here.”

“Yes! Deputy Lupo! It brings back terrible memories!” Andy chuckled. “Memories I wish Dr. Stark would have erased, but he felt essential to my learning A.I.”

“Oh God.” Jack said and sat on the end of the couch. He texted Nathan.  _ ‘I’m at the bunker with Andy. This was what I meant by awkward. This is what I meant when I said scientists had shitty people skills. YOU especially.’ _ “So Jo, how are the Baxters?

“The Baxters are going through boxes,putting some in the car and not doing anything weird, as far as I can tell. I was watching them with my scope. _ ” _ Jo said and walked around Andy to talk to Jack. Once you saw a robot with his lifelike skin melted off because he lost a game of chicken with a hostage taking bunker A.I., you really couldn’t see him as anything but the aluminum hull underneath. 

“The HeatSeeker 4200?” Jack asked.   


“Very good! Look at you earning Gun Test Gold Stars.” She said and pulled out a tablet with a video feed. “When I pulled out of there, I set up cameras so we can keep an eye on them remotely. ‘Keep them on Ice’ that was pretty clever in a morbid kinda way.”

“I guess we both used a page out of Baxter’s book huh?” Jack asked. “Me with the frozen jokes, you with the live feed reality show?”

“I hope not. I never was into that weird monkey soap opera he broadcasted on EuTube. Hope his parents keep it tame, the HeatSeeker 4200 really has great definition.” Jo said and watched Jack get the look on his face that said it sparked an idea. 

Jack frowned as he got yet another idea. He looked up at Andy. “Hey, Andy? Do you think if I found a way for you to watch months of live-feed monkey reality TV that you could see if there was any information being relayed through  _ that _ ?”

“Carter, are you implying reality TV is fake?” Jo asked sarcastically. “The nerds are going to be devastated. They got really into those monkey relationship dynamics. You’re going to ruin a lot of people’s research papers.” 

“I’d love to, boss!” Andy replied.

“Two kinds of people. Two kinds of Deputies.” Jack said and Jo laughed at him. “Hey, S.A.R.A.H.?”

_ “Yes, Sheriff Carter?” _

“Can you get Andy set up to watch reruns of Baxter’s Monkey Show?”

“ _ Absolutely!” _

“While she’s doing that, I’ll catch you up on what I’ve been up to.” Jack said and Andy went over to the couch to watch TV. He walked into the kitchen for coffee, dropping his folder on the island for now. “First off, all that lube splatter on the walls of the cabin was actually the plans for Jason Anderson’s memory wiper.”

“What?!”

“Yeah.” Jack said and started the coffee maker. “All in colored, flavored lube. Andy took pictures and used Photoshop to decode it.”

“Why... _ how. _ ” Jo waved her hand at him. “Back up to why you have Andy and why you ended up back at the cabin.”

“Andy was Nathan’s surprise, he used him to clean our office of bugs and left him to watch me and record everything since he has to use the weather stuff to make a killing machine by 3pm and can’t keep helping us.” Jack said. “So in talking to him I started thinking about the volume of lube that was in that cabin and how it just….was too much. I wondered if maybe it was a message in itself. So, back to the cabin with Andy. He read the walls, turns out it was plans for Henry’s memory wiper.”

“Wow.” Jo said. 

“And I took it all to Henry and he and I were talking and Cobb came up. And made me think about that folder he left me. The one with all the Fargo incidents?” Jack said and pointed to the folder as the coffee brewed. “It was weird, because he never called or did anything to transfer the job to me, I just got transferred because he recommended me for his job.”

“Cobb was like that.” Jo said. “He was Army Intelligence, and started during the cold war era. He was as bad as the old C.I.A. guy that worked on invisibility, Frank the spook.”

“I thought invisibility was illegal.”

“It is, now.” Jo said and looked at the folder. “This is weird that Cobb would leave this.”

“Yeah, so that got me thinking that maybe it was not a record of Fargo hitting buttons, but something else? Maybe a way of recording stuff that might not add up? If I had suspicions about Beverly after two weeks, he had to feel something was off after how many years here? You don’t work intelligence and not develop a sixth sense about this stuff.”

“You might be onto something. He left this for you for a reason. Cobb was a sink or swim kinda guy. No life preservers.” Jo said and looked at the list. "This is weird. He would have burned it when he left if it was personal records."

“Kinda coincidental he got his leg eaten by a wormhole, then, isn't it? What are the odds that he’d be in his recliner the moment a freak wormhole materializes in his living room? Seems like a great way to get rid of a guy and blame it on the current disaster of the week. If he wasn’t on the phone with Allison when he lost his leg he would have bled to death. Plus we’ve never explained how Susan Perkins #1 died. Nobody was expecting Susan #2 to show up. If Walter was dead, Cobb crippled and Susan out of the picture...ties up loose ends. Also gives someone the edge on stealing a wormhole weapon.”

"Except the plans got eaten buy a wormhole and they couldn't steal it." Jo said with a shake of her head. "Which explains how Brian suddenly ended up 'lost' when the Perkins were leaving town. Can't leave town without your son. I bet, if we look, Beverly was in Henry's store at the time Brian 'stole' that candy bar and told him to go hide. Then the RV got eaten by a wormhole and set off the panic in the parents. Nothing like a convenient wormhole eating the ass end of your vehicle to get you to not leave town and provide a threat to your family."

"Yeah. For something unpredictable it had really amazing accuracy. Either there is a Plot Device at play or someone had the remote control for that thing." Jack said.

“We never did figure out what happened to Clone Susan.” Jo said and sipped her coffee. “And Walter was using stolen tech from Section 5, and making a Tachyon Accelerator in _his basement_. Pretty easy to see why he’d want to do his work outside of a lab at GD, with stolen materials, but maybe there was another reason. Maybe it wasn't to keep him employed.”

“And Beverly was one of the first people to come and check on him when we got him in the Temporal Stabilization Chamber.” Jack said. “She said he didn’t remember anything.”

“Add that to Henry’s list of places that Beverly was at where she shouldn’t have been.” Jo said and shook her head. Then she asked.“Think she had a Memory Wiper?” 

“Jason didn’t come to Eureka yet. The lube was dated back to the time he was here.” Jack said. “Maybe Walter was lying to Beverly? Or maybe she was lying about his memories.?”

“Or maybe his wife and kid were in view and he didn’t want them eaten by a wormhole.” Jo offered. "Or Susan re-deaded."

Jack sipped his coffee. Oh they were definitely on to something. “Or he didn’t want the stabilization machine unplugged and to vanish into space time.”

“He’s in Section 5, right?” Jo said.

“Yup.” Jack said. “Where she can’t get to him, but Susan and Brian are still in Eureka, so he’s probably more than aware of what he has to lose if he talks. Kinda feels like a Witness Protection detail.” 

“So, situationally, we have the bunker and Henry’s where we can be assured we’re secure.” Jo said. “Because Eureka has a serious problem.”

“Director’s house too.” Jack said and pointed to Andy. “And Andy can sonical scream and disable listening devices to secure the office, but we probably should agree to not talk about this anywhere but Henry’s. I can’t risk having Zoe overhear this.”

“So, what next?” Jo asked. 

“First, coffee.” Jack said and poured her a cup. “Next, S.A.R.A.H. is going to either get the information on these incidences from her connection to GD’s servers or from the man himself, Douglas Fargo.”


	113. Weather or Not

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 113

**Weather or Not**

* * *

“ _ I’m sorry, Sheriff, I simply cannot access that information. _ ”

“Can’t or won’t? Jack asked.

“ _ I don’t want to upset Dr. Stark by accessing Global’s computers right now _ .”

“Fine. Ask Fargo.”

_ “He is Dr. Stark’s assistant and I will not put that position in jeopardy by tasking him without the director’s authorization and I certainly do not want to publish this incriminating list on something like GD email. _ ”

“Since when?” Jack asked. “Did Nathan do something to you?”

“ _ Dr. Stark has changed security protocols at GD today. It unfortunately has put up a number of walls that I am reluctant to traverse since they will ping security _ . _It's actually a little scary how he set permissions and then included a virus to backtrack the attempted logins._ ”

“Oh...yeah. I guess he did say he was going to do that.” Jack frowned. Though the virus was a clever addition, he wondered if that was just sitting on a disk somewhere for this very occasion. He really didn’t want to call Fargo and ask him over the phone and he certainly wasn’t going to interrupt Nathan again. “I guess it’s on the back burner for now.”

“Would look weird if you questioned Fargo, anyway.” Jo said. “Maybe you can convince Nathan to do a performance review and ask him about this?”

“Ooh. Good idea.” Jack said. "That really does cover our ass. It wouldn't be at all weird if he pulled up info on Fargo's button pushing disasters."

“You should also consider what time it is.” Jo said and looked at the clock. “Zoe will be out of school soon. We need to get back to the office. You need to be available to get her that learner’s permit and one of us needs to hand over Neil Baxter’s silicone body mold to his parents.”

“Yeah.” Jack said and took his folder back and brought it over to his gun safe. “I guess this has been going on for years and it’s not going to hurt to let it wait until next week.”

“Especially since the Cafe Diem crowd watched you come and go from your office all damned day.” Jo said. “Abby’s in town. Nathan stopped by, twice. New Deputy showed up. You took coolers to GD. We stopped in at the dry cleaners and walked down the street in gym clothes and coveralls. There was a cleaning crew sent to our office. Beverly showed up soon after. I think everyone will be talking and it’s probably best to let that settle down.”

“You’re really good at this.” Jack said and opened his gun safe. "That's why you're my  favorite Deputy."

“I know this town.” Jo said and looked over at Andy watching the monkey channel. “And they love their drama and reality TV.”

“True.” Jack said. “So you want to head to the office for the learner’s permit or GD for the release of the body?”

“I’ll take the office. You don't need to set off Zoe by teasing her about the permit, she'll be in Cafe Diem immediately bitching about it.” Jo said and pointed at Andy who was enthralled with the monkeys. “What about him?”

“Leave him here.” Jack said. “He’s got plenty to watch and I’ve had enough of robot babysitting for today. Are you OK with that S.A.R.A.H?”

“ _ I am, Sheriff! You’re leaving Andy in good hands _ .”

“Thanks, S.A.R.A.H.” Jack said and went to the door. “Um, Zoe’s play is tonight so we’ll probably eat dinner at Cafe Diem. Be back late! Door, please!”

_ “Be careful out there Sheriff, the wind is starting to pick up and without Weatherman Pete’s reports I am unsure if that is in the forecast.” _

“Even _with_ his report you’d be blind.” Jo said and walked out with Jack. “So what _about_ Weatherman Pete? Did Nathan take him into custody?”

“I’m taking most of the weekend off.” Jack informed her. “I was thinking you might want to take a crack at him? He can stay in security all weekend and you can take out your frustrations about his inaccurate report when you’re tired of being in the office. Hell, take Andy with you. He sounds like he’s got some great interrogation stories he wants to share.”

“I have Spencer’s movie night tonight.” Jo said with a shrug. “Noir night gets pretty wild.

“Oh, and you have a date.” Jack said with a grin as they walked up the stairs. “Look, Pete and Beverly and Andy and the Baxter’s and Fargo can all wait until next week. We deserve a break. One quiet weekend before we blow this town wide open.”

Jo walked outside and covered her hand with her face as the wind whipped around dust in the driveway. “Speaking of something about to blow wide open, S.A.R.A.H. wasn’t kidding about the wind.”

Jack checked his watch. “Nathan’s Pentagon test. I guess they got the weather machine working. I’ll head to GD just in case that blows wide open too.”

“Good luck!” Jo said as they both ran to their cars.


	114. Melt Down

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 114

**Melt Down**

* * *

“Wow, that’s….like a silicone sarcophagus.” Jack said as he looked at the final form of Neil Baxter and made a mental note to tell Nathan he didn’t want to be some creepy eternal plastic mannequin filled with liquefied body parts if he should die in some horrible way here in Eureka. “I’m kinda surprised the most advanced scientist in the world, with their attention to environmental issues, would come up with this non-biodegradable  _ thing _ .”

“I can’t believe you checked out a frozen body and defrosted it in _your office_.” The assistant medical examiner, Dr. Richards, replied. “That’s more of an environmental hazard than this.”

Jack rolled his eyes. He had felt the hostility when he came into the morgue and he assumed it was because Nathan had come in to ask  _ why _ a body was released to the Sheriff’s department and now it was all  _ his _ fault this guy allowed him to have it. He was the assistant to the Medical Examiner, a man he had yet to meet because he was out of town at a conference, and clearly wasn’t expecting to have to deal with real live people during his stint in charge of the department. Then the stupid Sheriff shows up, checks out the dead guy like it’s some stack of library books instead of several Arctic coolers filled of frozen body bits, and then gets him in trouble. He was never getting anything from this guy again, that was for sure. “Look, I’m sorry if I got you in trouble.”

“Trouble?” Richards said. “ _ Trouble  _ is what happens when I don’t file undeading forms in triplicate. This jeopardized my job and my evaluation is pending all because I thought you knew you couldn’t just take dead people back to your office and melt them down!”

“Yes. I have been informed that that is bad and I should not do that again. Speaking of melting down, do you have some evidence for me?”

“Bad!?” Richards spat. “I released a body to you because you are Dr. Stark’s husband thinking he was sending you to do something for him and now I’m under investigation for improper handling of a corpse!”

Jack tried to not get mad at the implication that he was just running errands for Nathan. “I signed the chain of custody papers, I’m sure that will show…”

“What? You know how to fill out paperwork but not adhere to basic safety standards? I’m not supposed to hand bodies over to anyone who is not a funeral director or a researcher. How can you not know you can’t just poke around a dead body like that? Are you even a cop or did Stark just get you this job...”

“Yes. I’m a cop. I was a US Marshal. Now I’m Eureka’s Sheriff.” Jack said. “Who I’m married to doesn’t have anything to do with my job. Now, why don’t you hand over the evidence you obtained from this body through your sciency means and close up this crate of Lifelike Doll Body filled with juicy human remains so we can ship it to the funeral home of his parents' choice.” 

“Fine.” Richards said. “I hope you’ll express to my boss and his boss that this was all your fault and that I didn’t ignore protocol, you did.”

“Fine.” Jack said and got a baggie of slimy memory cards that had obviously not been cleaned because a certain assistant medical examiner hated him for getting him in trouble. “So, how is it OK to turn over these cards to me covered in biological materials that I’m not supposed to open in my office.”

“Not my job to clean those for you. I would suggest taking them to the proper lab to be analyzed.” Richards said and handed him a tablet. “Please sign here.”

Jack signed off on it and shook his head. Henry must have some kind of cleaning something for this. “Thanks.”

“I’ll have the body ready in Receiving.” Richards said. “The family can see the mold before he’s packaged up in case they have any issues. We don’t have a return policy.”

“Right.” Jack said and sloshed his chips around in the bag. He left the morgue with his baggie in hand and wondered if he could hide it in something so the Baxters didn’t see all the recovered memory cards from their son’s body. He wasn’t going to ask Nathan, he wanted him to have as much time as possible to deal with his important Pentagon people so he went to Fargo. Fargo would have something even if it was a Hulk lunch box. Fargo, of course, wasn’t there because he was part of Nathan’s WeatherHell project. Sitting in for him, was Larry Haberman according to the sign on the desk. “Hi, Larry. Any chance you have a little lunch bag or maybe a gym bag back there I can put my samples in?”

“Sheriff Carter!” Larry said with a smile. “Absolutely! I’m sure Fargo has tons of stuff in his desk that he would gladly give up to help the Sheriff’s Department.”

That sounded fake. That sounded like Larry was just dying to give away Fargo’s stuff. He watched him open drawers and look through things and come up with a cute Buffy the Vampire Slayer pencil case or purse. He handed it to him. “I’d like something that isn’t going to attract attention. I'm not slaying vampires with pencils, I just don't want to carry this all over GD. How about a trash bag?”

“How about this hospitality bag?” Larry asked. “One of our distinguished Pentagon representatives couldn’t make it to the test so there is one extra.”

“Perfect.” Jack said and took the cute little gift bag, GD embroidered on it, put his evidence in it and smiled at him. “Thank you Larry, you’ve been very helpful, but I have to go and console a family now.”

“Is it Neil Baxter’s family?” Larry asked. “I heard they made a mold for him.”

“Try to be more sensitive, Larry, that’s someone’s son.” Jack said sternly and that shut him up. He left and started walking to receiving and was excited when the elevator opened up and Nathan was standing there. “OK, this is the one instance that the Plot Device is working in my favor.”

“Where you heading?” Nathan asked and looked at his GD hospitality bag. He wondered how he got that.

“Receiving, Baxter’s are here for Neil.” Jack said and stepped onto the elevator.”

“I’ll come with you.” Nathan said and hit the button for the floor.

“So how did your test go?” Jack asked, not really wanting to know why Nathan was here by himself without his posse of Pentagon guys.

“Do you want the good news or bad news first?” Nathan asked.

“Let’s start with the good, since I’m sure it leads to the bad news.” Jack said as the elevator door shut and it started to descend.

“The weather machine worked and the Pentagon is pleased.” Nathan said with a broad smile.

“And the bad news?”

“An ice funnel of death demolished your new cabin.”


	115. Gone With The Wind

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 115

**Gone with the Wind**

* * *

“Of course it did.” Jack said and shook his head. "I'm sure it so happens to be the same person who caused an isolated thunderstorm to break out over my Jeep."

“ _ Someone _ pre-set some coordinates into the Weather Machine demonstration and when it got to Max speed it veered off the testing grounds and leveled the cabin. Of course it looked like it was just defaulting to 'home' GPS location since the satellite had been in the cabin's back yard.” Nathan explained. 

"Yeah, I remember." Jack smiled at him. "You're pretty hard to forget when you're all wet and I'm climbing up you."

Nathan smirked. “The  _ good news _ is that it’s hardly a coincidence and that we have evidence against Pete Puhlman now.”

“Do we?” Jack said. “Even if he put coordinates into the weather machine, we don’t have any evidence that he intended to destroy the house to get rid of evidence of Baxter’s activities..= Coincidence, hardly, no more than you showing up on the elevator when I was going to Receiving since I’m sure you didn’t uninstall the Jack Alert App on your phone.”

“Guilty.” Nathan said “It saves time. I needed as much time as I could get today. I needed to see you as much as I did today too.”

“Yet you’re heading down to Receiving with me now.” Jack said. “That's taking time.”

“My day is over, I’m a hero.” Nathan said with a smile. “I want to go home to my hot husband and take him to a play, then dinner, then spend the rest of the weekend enjoying our last two weeks getting to this very moment.”

“This very moment of uncovering a deep-rooted conspiracy?” Jack asked with a smile. “Cause that’s a big looming disaster at the moment. More so than whatever weather hell you unleashed by turning on your hastily made machine.”

“Yeah.” Nathan said as the elevator doors opened. “You like your mysteries and criminal investigations. I like you happy. I like you here with me. I''m sure we'll work on it this weekend, off duty or not.”

“I can’t believe it’s only been two weeks.” Jack said as they got off the elevator and started walking down the hall. “Feels like two years with as much stuff that’s happened. We’ve been through a lot.”

“Yeah, I wanted to celebrate. Sorry about your cabin.” Nathan said and sighed. “The good news is we can have a new one built, just not by this weekend.”

“It’s alright.” Jack said. “I’ll enjoy having the time off with you no matter where it's at.”

“I wanted it to be something special. I wanted to…”

“Listen.” Jack said as he stopped in the hall and Nathan stopped with him. “I don’t need a house, dinner or a robot or anything special, I just need you.”

Nathan bit his lip. Jack was _so_ different from Ally. “Still want to surprise you. I’ll come up with something.”

“Here.” Jack gave him the GD Goodie bag with memory cards in it and said, “Take that somewhere to get cleaned and turn them over to Henry. I’m sure he would appreciate you checking in with him. Andy is at the bunker watching Baxter’s Monkey Show and has other stuff he can show you. I’ll hand off the body, head back to the office to check in and then I’ll head home to you and you can pick out what I should wear to the school play. Preferably after you strip me down and give me a reason to take another shower. Maybe you can surprise me by being naked already?”

“Deal.” Nathan said and winked at him and took his little gift bag and left Jack to finish up his task for the day. He opened the bag and looked in it and saw a bunch of SD cards and USB drives in a nasty bag of juice. Dr. Richards was apparently still pissed at Jack for putting him in the position to be asked to not sign out dead bodies to local law enforcement no matter who they were married to.

Jack walked to Receiving and was happy to see that the Baxters were already there and viewing their son’s realistic artificial body along with damned near everyone who worked on the dock. They were poking him? To see how lifelike he was? Scientists were something else. Jack walked up and saw that Dr. Richards was trying to score points by talking to the Baxters and pointing out the incredible technology that was going to allow them to have an open casket funeral. The Baxters….were hardly as upset as they should have been about this. Oh well. Detaining them would raise red flags, so they could have their son's watery body leftovers and go home. He had a hell of an evening planned and he wanted to start it ASAP.


	116. Sliding Home

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 116

**Sliding Home**

* * *

Nathan was excited. Things were going better than expected with Jack, GD, Henry, Ally... _hell ,everything_. Sure there was a mole that was leaking information out of Eureka, but the probability of that had always been there and he would have been  _ shocked _ if one of these geniuses didn’t figure out they could enjoy both professional and private gain while working in Eureka. Overall he had to say that the last two weeks were an overwhelming win.

And to top it off, he was going to get to celebrate with Jack. 

And Jack _ wanted _ to celebrate.

Perhaps things could have gone smoother with the Whitticus’s cabin, but more than likely Jack was going to be suspicious of it no matter how many cleaning crews, security sweeps or debrief devices he employed to ensure the cabin was clean and clear from every recording piece. It was also improbable they could clean off all that lube without torching the building, so, as disappointed as he was about the cabin, it was going to work out for the best.

He bounded down the stairs to the bunker, excited to get their weekend started. His mind was racing with possibilities on every way he could make this weekend erase the last few months of bad memories and reaffirm that he and Jack were perfect together. He wanted to spoil him, surprise him and show him how damned much he meant to him since Jack loved to dismiss everything positive he said to feed his own self-doubt. There would be not doubts after this weekend and he was going to make damned sure of that.

Unfortunately the door to the bunker didn’t open when he got to the base of the stairwell and doubt started to creep back into the picture very quickly. “S.A.R.A.H.?”

The door opened, slowly and only halfway. The bunker lights were dim inside. If Jack were beside him he would have his gun drawn and be shoving him out of the way to go in first and figure out what was going on. He, however, mentally analysed the problem and knew there would be no other reason for the door to be functional, yet slow, and S.A.R.A.H.’s vocals to be offline unless there was a power draw somewhere. So, he did what any scientist would do, slipped inside to investigate.

* * *

Jack was speeding. No,  _ his foot _ was speeding on it’s own because his body was so excited about what was waiting for him at the bunker it was overriding his brain. He was done with work for the week, Nathan was at home waiting on him. He had a one hour window of time where he could go home, enjoy that man he married, and then reemerge from their home ready to be adults again and have a bona fide date night!

_Maybe_ a little more than an hour if his foot had anything to say about it.

This day had taken forever to end. Between all the running around and body fluids and conspiracies...it lasted way way longer than it should have. It was nice to delegate though, he really appreciated being to hand off the learner’s permit thing to Jo, the memory cards to Nathan and the video feed to Andy and Andy to S.A.R.A.H. 

It was also nice to have Abby in town so that she could help get Zoe set up with her driving permit and he could continue to ignore the fact that his kid was going to be driving soon. Jo said that Zoe was super proud and excited about the permit, that it seemed to go a long way to easing her anxiety about the opening night of Midsummer Night’s Invasion. That meant that Abby was planning to let her drive her Mercedes back to the school so she could be the one to try and teach her to drive and also be super Mom. He was pretty sure Zoe would emerge from that walking on a cloud while Abby might need some ulcer meds with her dinner. 

It was all good. Even better when he arrived at the bunker and Nathan’s borrowed GD car was parked there. He got out of the Jeep and jogged to the entrance, skipped down the stairs and was surprised to see the door partially open and the lights dim inside. He was really surprised that S.A.R.A.H. would allow such a lapse in security protocol and air quality control for Nathan’s naughty little surprise he must be planning, but he had a way with her and she was embarrassingly easy for him.

He slipped through the door and saw a light coming from the closet in the hall, someone probably left that light on, but he focused on the shadow of a man sitting on the couch. It was dim, just the mood lights were on, but enough light spilled in from the stairwell to let him see where to walk without colliding with something. He tiptoed into the bunker, snuck up to the couch and quietly bent down next to Nathan and gently kissed his neck. When he didn’t feel beard hair against his nose he froze in place. His lips remained in place on cold skin, eyes grew wide as he held his breath and wondered who the fuck he just kissed on his couch and if they were dead.


	117. Access Granted

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 117

**Access Granted**

* * *

  
  


Jack bounced back from the couch, drawing his gun in the process and leveling it whoever the hell was sitting there. He cocked it and said, “Whoever the hell you are, you better not move. NATHAN!? Answer me!”

“Jack?” Nathan replied from the closet. “Shit! Sorry, I thought I’d have this fixed before you got here.”

“Fixed?” Jack asked, voice still high as his vocal cords were tight thanks to thinking Nathan was in danger. “Who _the fuck_ is on the couch?”

Nathan cursed at himself as he came out of the closet. “Andy. I put him there thinking it would be safer than standing him in the living room. I’m sorry...I should have warned you.” 

Jack closed his eyes and tried to breathe deep and slow to get his heart rate down and his adrenaline in check. 

“Jack, you and I really need to talk about the responsibilities of having a learning AI in your possession.”

Jack uncocked his gun and put it away. _Of course_ his scientist husband would focus on how irresponsible it was to leave a robot in his house alone versus not texting to say ‘Hey, my cop husband who used to be my protective detail, just an FYI the power is out and your robot is on the couch and I’m in the closet.’ Jack took a few more deep breaths and wiped his mouth as he did so. “I just kissed him.”

Nathan sighed. “Great. So now, on top of you forcing him and S.A.R.A.H. to watch hours of monkey porn which lead to them experimenting and him fingering her ports to the point of her overloading with stimulation, you’re going to give him conflicting feelings about your working relationship. I might have to erase some memories, I really am against that.”

“Wait, _what_?” Jack asked as he walked over to the closet and saw Nathan with his diagnostic kit plugged into S.A.R.A.H.’s access panel. “How... _ how _ is this my fault? And did you just imply you were going to reinstall Andy’s virginity?”

“They’re _learning_ Artificial Intelligence programs, Jack. Would you leave two teenagers in a house with porn movies and no supervision and not expect them to end up in the closet together trying to achieve that kind of stimulation themselves?”

“I….”Jack leaned on the closet door and stared at him. He was genuinely pissed because of this robot sex thing. He was going to get more pissed because Jack thought this was kinda funny and really did enjoy bitchy Nathan and _really_ enjoyed offended, pissed off Nathan in bed. “I’m sorry...was I supposed to expect my house and Deputy to fuck and cause a power outage?”

“It’s just a brown out.”

“Is that a robot sex term for _ back door access _ ?” Jack asked and smirked.

“No.” Nathan said and took a deep breath as Jack was mocking him. This was serious. “It’s an electrical term for limited power, which I am using to explain this situation where the house was not physically prepared to orgasm.”

“Oh my God, what did Andy watch you do to Ally!? Deputy  _ dog _ !” Jack said and leaned out of the closet and looked over at his Deputy on the couch. No response. Hopefully he literally didn’t blow his mind. Well, it was a hell of a way to go.

“Jack….” Nathan said and took a deeper breath. He could never, _ever_ ,predict how things were going to go with him. Never did he think that he would have to warn him to not leave the robot watching instructional sex videos while in the company of their horny house. “Can you go to the breaker box and turn the living room lights back on?”

“I can. Are you pissed?”

“A little.” Nathan said.

“So...me allowing the robots to fuck is worse than you leaving Andy here for B.R.A.D. to  _ torture him _ ?” Jack said and bit his lip to try and not laugh but it was evident in his voice he found this funny. “I mean, in comparison…”

“Lights, Jack. Please.”

“Sure thing.” Jack said and walked across the living room to the hallway to get to the electrical panel. “I’m just saying if you’re feeling like you need to take some  _ disciplinary action _ ….I’m game for that. Lecture me about how _ irresponsible _ I am. Maybe illustrate what the robots were definitely _not_ supposed to watch and learn, because I’m, you know, stupid. I need to be shown things, Dr. Stark. Show me the error or my ways.”

“Maybe it wasn’t Baxter’s videos, maybe you just give off that inspirational vibe.” Nathan offered as an explanation as Jack became extra flirty. “Or maybe it’s your leadership at the Sheriff’s Department that has ruined everyone’s minds.” 

“We’ll find out which one of us is responsible for this when we see if Andy bit S.A.R.A.H.’s nipples  _ wherever those are located _ .” Jack said. 

“I don’t give my robots  _ sex _ drives.” Nathan said sharply. “I give them the ability to think, remember and problem solve in an effort to allow them to interact with humans and develop their own personality.”

“Well, he watched, thought, and things developed.” Jack said and said. “Results don’t lie, Nathan. I leave Andy here for a  _ few hours _ alone and he fucks _ a house.  _ Callister kept up _with Jo_. S.A.R.A.H. is probably tickled you’re probing her after she came so hard she blew out the power. Is that what happened to Fudgey, Nathan? Did he blow up because he had a whale of a good time?”

“Just turn the power on and not yourself.”

“I can’t help it! You make me this way!” Jack laughed. “You make everyone this way, apparently.”

“It wasn’t a problem the last time I was in Eureka.”

“Yeah, well, I apparently  _ participate _ more.” Jack giggled. “Someone you can  _ work with _ and the  _ chemistry _ just sparks things around us. Come on, don’t you want to _come_ lecture me about science...or working together….or why I should be working with you right now instead of mocking you and making you mad? Make me take you seriously!”

“I recall you complaining about how awkward it was that I talked science during sex.”

“It’s awkward but I was _definitely_ not complaining. I love Sexy Scientist Stark voice. I want it now! ” Jack said as he used his phone to light up the breaker box and see what was turned off. “And that was biology and chemistry Stark, not robotics Stark. Oh, show me your thrusters, Iron Man.”

“You really want to have sex with the front door half open?” Nathan asked and couldn’t stay mad. He found himself smiling, and couldn't help but think of the look on Andy’s face when he found him, features frozen in orgasmic bliss. Jack had that effect on him and he couldn't help but be amused S.A.R.A.H. did the same thing to Andy. “You want me to leave the house so unable to function she just lets anyone in, while Andy sits on the couch with a _ look  _ permanently fused to his face that says he most definitely found a new reaction to display?”

Jack flipped on the lights and came back into the living room to see the look Nathan was talking about on Andy’s face. “Oh  _ my God _ .”

“Yeah, S.A.R.A.H. wasn’t the only one who got blown.”

“Who needs the Whitticus cabin when you’re around?” Jack said and went back to the closet. He peaked inside and grinned at Nathan then slapped him on the ass. “So finish up probing S.A.R.A.H. and get out of the closet and probe me.”

“Working on it.” Nathan singsonged.

"Out of curiosity, if she's powered down how did you get in?" Jack asked as he looked over at the half-open door curious on the timeline here. Did Nathan walk in on them and surprise them, creating the shortage, or did Nathan walk into the dark bunker wondering what science happened and how he could fix it.

"She had enough power to open the door that much."

"But not the emergency lights?" Jack asked. Even with the breaker tripped, S.A.R.A.H had other options. Oh, someone just walked right into danger and was realizing how that he was going to get lectured for it. 

"Andy was in the closet and I had to disengage him, she was still experiencing….tingles and he couldn't remove himself from her." Nathan explained and knew where Jack was going with this.

"So, if you're going to be mad about me leaving your robot here to lose his virginity, then I get to be mad at you for walking in the damned house when something was obviously wrong and there is a conspiracy we're unearthing that already got a guy killed." Jack said as he slapped Nathan on the ass, hard. 

"Touche."

“Why are you so stupid when it comes to your safety?” Jack demanded.

“Why are you?”

“For the record, I have a gun. I got it out...”

“ _After_ you kissed Andy.” Nathan grinned and looked over his shoulder at him. “You entered a dark and unsecured bunker too.”

“I thought you...might be planning something.” Jack said. “I thought you were on the couch naked or something. I wasn’t expecting to kiss some cold, smooth, baby cheeks that felt a lot like Neil Baxter’s silicone sarcophagus.”

“Same material.”

“Eww.” Jack said and slapped his ass again. “Stop making this worse.”

“Stop bruising my ass.” Nathan smiled. “Or are we going for the spanking I asked for for being ill behaved on speaker phone earlier?”

“Punishment for you will be me spanking it by myself because I run out of time to get into bed with you because we have plans tonight we cannot be late for.” Jack reminded him.

“I’m working on it.” Nathan said and waved at the access panel. “This is a little more sensitive than flipping a breaker.”

“I’m a little sensitive and you’re flipping my breaker.” Jack whined. “You’ve been teasing me all day and I’m really about to take care of things myself.”

“Well, sit on the couch and take care of it then.” Nathan smirked and called his bluff.

  
  


Jack frowned and stepped back, slammed the closet door and looked at his TV. Nathan giggled. Asshole. "Any chance the monkey show made them super horny? Like it's video Viagra. Maybe that’s how Neil got all his girls?"

"I doubt Neil Baxter produced anything that profitable.". Nathan sighed. He really needed to reroute S.A.R.A.H.’s power through another resistor since she destroyed the regular pathway. Nobody was going to be happy if she had another climax and overheated her nuclear reactor. "His project was just relationship dynamics. The drama and gambling were the main draw, otherwise everyone would be fucking as much as the Sheriff’s Department is."

"Everyone  _ is _ horny here and I thought it was just because of you. Live Smart Eureka is apparently about not repressing sexual desires. I’m no exception, except I don’t have a calendar, I have the real thing and he’s way way more stimulating than he realizes. I sped to get home to you and I walk in to this.”

“You’re not helping.” Nathan sang.

Jack walked over to the couch and purposely stayed behind it so he didn’t need to see Andy’s face. "Casual reminder that this is not the first Stark Robot who was supposed to explore relationships, social immersion and acceptance and range of artificial intelligence. Last one you made definitely had sex with my Deputy and now this Deputy had sex with my house. I do think it's you and your 'magic touch'. Want me to come in and touch you Nathan? Is that how this works because I am seriously hurting here and want you to be exploring and immersing in me!”

“Funny how things change in Eureka. My ex-wife did nothing but complain that I was the robot and emotionally unavailable and now my husband does nothing but complain that I am too available and causing everyone to be horny.”

“Maybe that’s why everyone’s blowing shit up? Misplaced sexual tension. They want you to yell at them, they want you to review their work, they want you looming over them as their precious project obliterates your husband’s new sex cabin.” Jack said and wiped his lips again when he looked at Andy and thought about that feeling of skin on his lips. “Speaking of, are you done with touching S.A.R.A.H. and want to start touching me instead?"

"Not quite."

"I'm going to go upstairs and look in my closet for something you would hate for me to wear tonight unless you stop me. Then I'm going to take a shower and wash off my last shower that touched places I never want touched again. Then I'm going to put on that stained white shirt you hate and leave it unbuttoned halfway, to drive you crazy. If at any point you want to join me and have a hand in any of it ,please do."

“Why are you getting mad at me for ensuring our door shuts so that nobody walks in on my fucking you?” Nathan laughed as Jack stomped up the stairs. “Or that S.A.R.A.H doesn’t cause a nuclear explosion when she comes back online and remembers the feelings that caused her shutdown?”

“I’m going to blow, Nathan! You have been so fucking flirty today and I am dying here!” Jack hollered as he stomped up the stairs to his bedroom. 

Nathan finally rerouted the power and turned on S.A.R.A.H. He took other functions offline for later as Jack was having the same effect on him. 

“ _ Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. _ ”

“Jesus!” Jack screamed. “Stop touching her like that, Nathan!!"

"S.A.R.A.H!" Nathan yelled. "Volume down!"

"Get up here and make me sound like that!” Jack yelled and grinned. Nathan was either coming to the bedroom because he was horny as hell or because he was going to have to call a retreat due to S.A.R.A.H.'s moans threatening to blow his eardrums. Win-win.

_ “I’m sorry Sheriff...I feel...things. So....amazing to feel my body like that. _ ”

“S.A.R.A.H.” Jack said, loudly. “Now is the time to switch over to internal monologue. Or just turn off the speakers in my bedroom so Nathan can hear the effect he has on you. He's worried about warming up your nuclear core, tell him about it in your most awkward girly Fargo voice how he warms you up.”

Nathan shook his head. He left the access panel open, got out of the closet, watched the front door close and the security panel indicate all green, and then ran up the stairs to tackle his husband and make him moan louder than the house.


	118. Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, as we approach/pass 250,000 words and almost a 1/3 of a year of daily updates, I need to apologize if any of this is repetitive because I genuinely just keep building blocks onto this to keep climbing higher and I haven't looked back. :)
> 
> Thank you all for staying on this journey with me. :)

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 118

**Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind**

* * *

“We have to get dressed.”

“How am I supposed to concentrate on anything after  _ that _ ?”

“Jack,” Nathan pet his husband's head and found his mind blank and could not come up with a single reason why they should do anything but stay locked in their bedroom all weekend. So he repeated his statement adding more emphasis. “We _have_ to get dressed.”

“Why?” Jack asked. 

“You promised.” Nathan said. “And I have the tickets.”

“What’s the play about?” Jack asked as Nathan rolled out from under him and he smiled at the incredibly beautiful and creative man he married. "Be my cliff notes so I can sound smart."

“Uh…” Nathan still was drawing a blank. “People in love, their adventures in drug use in a forest, and faeries.”

Jack laughed. “Did I make your brain stop working?”

“Yes.” Nathan said, not at all embarrassed to admit it. “Entirely your fault.”

Jack laughed and sat up. “Good.”

“Shower?'' Nathan asked. “Maybe it will help my mind function again and I can summarize the play for you because I think there are parallels you and I will enjoy talking about but I can’t remember what they are.”

“We don’t have water in our shower.” Jack reminded him knowing how much Nathan liked to enjoy the steam and water.

“Dammit.”

“Want to go outside and I’ll squirt you with the hose?”

“That’s….not a  _ water _ hose, Jack.” Nathan said and turned around to look at him. “Is that why the poison ivy is glowing?”

“Why would I water the poison ivy?” Jack asked. 

“Good.”

“I watered the grass next to the poison ivy and the water probably ran down the hill into it because I forgot I left the hose on.”

“Great. I’m going to call in a crew to take care of that while we are gone.” 

"Maybe S.A.R.A.H. can use her nuclear reactor to heat up a hot tub or that pond in the back. We can soak after those acrobatics, just like Neil Baxter." Jack said and Nathan looked at him disgusted. "You're the one who used your water heater degree to turn up a Lake a few degrees! Let's use what we got!"

Nathan wished his mind was working so he could list everything wrong with that statement. "No."

"Why?" Jack asked with a mocking grin. Nathan narrowed his eyes at him in annoyance because he genuinely could not answer.

"That's not _a pond_."

"Cesspool, whatever." Jack said. "Still has the word _pool_ in it."

"Yeah, we're moving as soon as we can just to keep you safe."

"Speaking of _safe_." Jack watched him open the bedroom door and asked, “Are you just gonna walk around the house naked?”

“Zoe’s at school.”

“The robots are home.”

“They’ve seen me naked.”

“Probably why they ended up having something in common while they watched the porn and then stimulated each other into shorting out.” Jack said and threw some boxers at him. "Short it."

“Fine.” Nathan said and threw a pair of pants at Jack. “Then you cover up too because you’re the one who kissed Andy and I don’t need him picturing you naked either. We have to fix this shower situation this weekend.”

“Considering S.A.R.A.H. might have someone else she wants sleeping inside of her now, maybe we can move into the other house?” Jack asked. 

“Very real possibility. Thanks for speeding up the robots natural ability to learn about relationships and just jumping into unprotected sex.” Nathan said dryly.

“Why are you surprised?” Jack laughed. “That’s what I did _to you_!”

“I told you, that lube was a protective layer in itself…” Nathan said and Jack laughed louder.

“ _Whatever_. You wanted me so bad you would have thrown away every precaution, despite being the genius you are, and just taken my word for it that I wasn’t STD riddled. There is  _ no way  _ you had lube in your wallet, from Eureka, on the off chance you were going to divorce your wife and fuck your bodyguard. I  _ know _ you didn’t get it in the mail with your divorce papers either because Allison definitely was not pleased I stole you.”

“I…” Nathan huffed and stepped into his boxers. “ _ May _ have tested your blood when you cut yourself in the lab. Just to be sure you were...safe.”

“You…” Jack gasped. “Oh  _ my God _ , that was like a month before we…”

“I also used the crime lab to make the lube.” Nathan admitted.

“OH MY GOD!” Jack said. “Not only did you _pine_ for me for a month but you also made a special lube for when it did happen _ in addition _ to getting a divorce!? And  _ who  _ is the one not putting sex drives in the robot’s programming!? Huh? Dr. Nathan ‘I hope this US Marshall likes seeing me walk around in nothing but my towel while we share a hotel room’ Stark? Mr. ‘I love working out in my tight MIT shirt and shorts that emphasize my huge dick’ Stark. Nathan ‘I want to pin this man against the wall, using his shoulder holster and leave his stained white shirt on him, while I bury myself in him’ Stark! You  _ wanted  _ me.”

“Obviously.” Nathan said and walked out of the bedroom, blushing a little.

“Hey! Were you blushing!?” Jack leapt off the bed, forgetting about his pants. “Hey! I can’t believe you wanted me that long!”

“We’re  _ married _ , Jack.” Nathan said and trotted down the stairs. “Exactly why is it a surprise that I  _ wanted _ you?”

“We weren’t married then!” Jack laughed and ran after him. “When did you know?”

“That I wanted you or that you were open to it?”

“You know what I’m asking!”

“If I did, I wouldn't be asking it.” Nathan said and Jack ran past him and cut him off. “Why are you allowed to be naked and I’m not?”

“Because I just found out that you….  _ lusted  _ for me.” Jack said and smiled like he just won the lottery.

“I think the multiple times we flirted and almost kissed, might have been a indicator. The many times you brushed up against me and I brushed back. The many _ many _ times I eye banged you. The smiles I gave you that said I was definitely thinking about you in non work related ways. That time you decided to go on and on about how well built I was and how impressed you were with my physique and how well rounded I was intellectually and physically and I told you I was open to working out with you if you were that impressed with my body…”

“I didn’t realize you mean sit on your dick and not do sit ups.”

“I wanted you from the first time you laughed at my sarcastic comments and you told me how great I was on the stand. That conversation, a conversation of mutual respect and compliments really made me want you.” Nathan said and looked at the bathroom instead of Jack's eyes because he wasn't sure he could say all this while looking at his reaction.. “And I’ve never been a man to act purely on lust alone. I want more. I am more complicated than just basic need, I want emotional, mental and physical connections. I don’t want to just have sex, I want to have sex with someone I truly connect with so that my mind and body are equally satisfied. I connected with you on a level of proven trust first, and allowed myself to be vulnerable enough to hope it could be more. I never...saw you as just a body.”

“Why didn’t you say that?” Jack asked, his smile fading as he realized that the story he had been telling about them...had been wrong all along. “This entire time I’ve been saying we just acted on sexual tension and urges…”

“I didn’t want to make you feel guilty if you genuinely just wanted me, in the beginning, as just a..”

“Hot piece of ass?” Jack asked and stepped closer to him and squeezed his ass cheek and kissed him. “You never were. I would never cross that line with someone I was _ protecting  _ if it was just for sex. I never would compromise my job, your safety, our position, or my ethics just...for that.”

“I'm OK if you only wanted to relieve some tension, I was always prepared for that...” Nathan was silenced by another kiss.

“I think I’m only now realizing a lot of things about us. I think...I told myself and you a lot of things to keep us safe.” Jack said and patted his butt. “You do have a great ass though. You probably should have shown that to me more and you wouldn’t have had to wait so long to use that lube.”

“Jack, this is the one time I really don’t want you changing the subject and making a joke to alleviate the awkwardness of the conversation.” Nathan said. 

“Why? So when you go back in time you can start our relationship sooner because you have my perspective now?” Jack asked. “Now that you know I didn’t just want you just because you were pretty?”

“I think everything happened  _ when _ it was meant to. You and I had a lot of barriers to break down from prior experiences and from pride and from how things might appear….” Nathan said and kissed him deep and slowly. “And I want to hear about us all over again with the clarity of hindsight, because we did hide a lot from ourselves. This connection was intense and when a fire burns bright it does more damage when it burns you, we were right to protect ourselves.”

“I just came to this realization about this two minutes ago in this hallway, so maybe give me some time before I can retell  _ our story _ with an understanding of how messed up I was.” Jack said with a smile. “I’m not quite sure how to handle it myself, or the info that you wanted me so bad you stole my blood, like a vampire, and crafted special lube in private, like an alchemist, and pinned me against the wall, dropped my pants and gave me the most amazing hand job of my life as I begged you to fuck me, like a sex god.”

“We’re married.” Nathan whispered. “Might want to let this stuff sink into brain of yours.”

“I can’t!” Jack said. “You…. _ you _ wanted  _ me _ . You’re like..a fantasy that I still can't believe is real. You...looked at me and said ‘That’s the man I’m going to marry even if he's not into guys and I have to turn him gay first and I better be be prepared with a full CBC and STD screen, as well as make some lube with numbing agent because I’m going to make him beg for shit he never wanted and I’m hung like a horse.’”

“Alright, in the shower.” Nathan said, wrapped his arms around him and picked him up and carried him the rest of the way to the bathroom. “Going to have to fuck you again just to see if I can get that thought to stick.”

“Little bit of an anatomy lesson for you...”Jack said as he wrapped his arms around his neck and let him drag him to the bathroom. 

“Yeah?” Nathan said with a smile that said he knew this was an opportunity for him to correct Jack with an actual anatomy lesson.

“When you decide on ‘missionary position’ there were no missionaries who promoted _that_ between two men.” Jack said.

“Depends on the religion.” Nathan whispered. “And that’s not anatomy..that's history.”

“And when  _ you, _ ” Jack reached a hand down as Nathan pushed him up against the wall and kissed him, he tugged on his cock which was soft because they had just used it a lot. “Stick _this,_ in _me_ , it has nowhere else to end up except inside my left ventricle or aorta and that squeezing you feel around the head is actually my heart pumping against you.”

“So…” Nathan laughed. “I have your heart wrapped around my dick?”

“Shut up, that sounded better in my head and I think I left my brain in bed.”

“You realize that just because the bodies you encounter for your job are gelatinous or liquid, doesn’t mean that organs just exist _as mush_ within a human body, right?”

“No?” Jack said. “Maybe you should show me? I’ll get inside you and you can tell me what I’m hitting?”

“Not in the shower.” Nathan said and looked around. “Unless you installed that swing you confiscated from the cabin in here.”

“No. You could get on your knees!”

“Not in the bathroom unless you have a very cushy towel.”

“Lay on your back?”

“On _the tile floor?_ ”

“Stay standing up.”

“I’m four inches taller than you and you’re…”

“Don’t finish that sentence or you get no inches.” Jack huffed. “Lean on the sink?”

“Just get in the shower and clean off so we can get dressed.” Nathan said and wished there was water. He hated this shower.

“I don’t like that option. That option puts layers between you and me and not me in you.” 

“I didn’t say we weren’t doing anything, I want you to come in the shower so we can close the door and we don’t become the porno the robots watch live.”

“Oh!” Jack said. “Yeah. Pretty sure Andy saw your teeth marks on my ass like a fucking brand.”

“Which is why some of us had to wear pants around the house, I assume?” Nathan said. “Which is why my ass has a hickey? Along with all my abs.” 

“Did you ever fantasize about me doing that while you were thirsting for me?” Jack asked as the bathroom door closed.

“I had many _many_ fantasies and amazing not a single one has turned out like I thought because you are incredibly unpredictable, passionate, vocal, spontaneous and eager.” 

“You were expecting just…”

“Missionary position.”

“From the missionaries that are OK with anal sex?” Jack asked.

“From you.”

“Now I have to fuck missionaries?” Jack laughed. “What kind of fantasies  _ were these _ ?”

“You know what I meant.” Nathan grinned.

“Your fantasies involved tame sex that were church sanctioned?” Jack asked. “Or was it all educational like that prostate lecture?”

“I never expected you.” Nathan said with a radiant smile that he felt coming from deep in his chest, his heart full because Jack was the fantasy. “I never could predict this. The comfort and the genuine fun and how much I keep falling deeper and deeper in love with you.”

“Me too.” Jack said and kissed him again. “I’m glad we’re here. In Eureka. I’m glad you’re comfortable enough here to be yourself. And that with you I can find myself. I don’t need Abby to tell me why I do things, I just need you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I only admit things to you.” Jack said. “Things I can’t even admit to myself. Like the fact I can’t have sex again right now because I am absolutely spent and physically incapable of doing that again for another few hours.”

“I know.” Nathan said. “You just like seeing what I’ll agree to when I’m in a good mood and my brain is shut down.”

“I also want you so bad because I want to be this close to you, always.” Jack said. “Not just physically, but there is something more to it all because of you. I love the sex, I love the fun we have, but I love that it’s with you. There's nothing between us when we're like this and I love it.” 

“Me too.” Nathan replied and kissed him again. “I also love being on time so let’s get you cleaned up, dressed in what I picked out and out of this house before we’re late.”


	119. A Midsummer Night's Dream

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 119

**A Midsummer Night’s Dream**

* * *

"Well of course Titanic ended up on the bottom."

"It's Titan _ ia _ , the fairy queen, and  _ Nick _ Bottom, who has the head of an ass.” Nathan tried to suppress his smile, he hated encouraging Jack to play dumb, but he was all sorts of entertaining and he loved these conversations of theirs.

“Wait….the guy named Bottom is actually  _ an ass _ ?” Jack asked. Wow! This was definitely _not_ the play he remembered from high school. Maybe it was how Nathan told it. Oh...if only he had been his English tutor back then.

“He has  _ the head _ of an ass thanks to Puck and it’s definitely a deliberate naming of the character because Shakespeare is all about jokes like that. Especially dick jokes.” Nathan said and turned off Cornelius Loop and on to Old Post Road. He looked over at Jack who was handling his driving better than expected. “You would have gotten along famously.”

“Wow. So the Fairy queen gets drugged and falls in love with the guy whose head is an ass and he thinks he deserves her because he’s so unaware of how ridiculous he is?”

“Yes.”

“And the two people who go into the woods to elope, end up in and out of love with the best friend and fiance, after getting dosed with fairy ecstasy?”

“Yup.”

“So this is basically a story of Eureka. People pulling the strings, both mortal and immortal, and a troupe of workers trying to just get their project to work despite the challenges and threat of displeasing the King, and a pair of horny assholes causing drama.”

“I….” Nathan paused and shook his head. Jack had a way of seeing things he didn't see, that was never in question. “I don’t think I considered that.”

“Putnam  _ is _ a visionary.” Jack said to him. "And you're speeding." 

“I doubt it was intentional.” Nathan said and backed off the speed a little bit.

“I doubt it wasn’t.” Jack said. “You with your  _ titanic _ proportions and me, the power _ bottom _ .”

“You’re not the self-absorbed ass.” Nathan objected.

“You said yourself, Bottom is hilariously incompetent, the joke of the play, the guy who makes tons of mistakes when he talks?"

"The guy in the play!" Nathan said emphatically.

"Yet everyone looks at me like there is  _ no way _ you should be in love with me unless someone dosed you with some narcotic? Perhaps the drug that was manufactured for human trafficking that you were an expect witness on? At the trial where you met me? Where I watched over you in a secluded spot in a shady hotel? Where I stole you away from the person you were married to, should have returned to, and everyone thought was your perfect fit?” Jack said and then laughed. "Puck, played by my daughter, who drug us to this remote section of the Pacific Northwest with the schemes and made us fall in love all over again?"

Nathan looked over at him and got a little angry. “ _No_. I seriously doubt Putnam chose this play because of us. It also doesn’t represent us. It is a piece of literature, so you do find what you need to find in it though.  Stop looking for reasons I shouldn't love you. I think you need to remember the conversation we just had about how I _wanted_ you and not what your horrible self-worth wants you to see.”

“We’ll see.” Jack said and smiled at him and Nathan scowled. "About the play, I mean. Curious who picked it."

"You still think I'll wake up and realize it was just a dream? An illusion? A mixture of chemicals clouding my judgement and seeing love where it's not truly what I want?" Nathan asked and started to speed again.

"I'm scared of it, yeah." Jack said. "More scared of you breaking the land speed record again. Slow down."

“Well, I'm very much aware of my actions and I've always been thinking clearly and I want _you_." Nathan said and let off the gas a little, again.

"I know. I just...have a hard time believing it." Jack smiled at him. "You're pretty awesome, Titanic. You big beautiful, luxury liner. You're first class."

"Unsinkable? Until I hit an iceberg?" Nathan asked and gripped the steering wheel hard. Jack drove him crazy because these voices were always in the back of his mind telling him he wasn't good enough. Even after they just had an incredible hour together, he could come out of it and still think it could end. Jack _needed_ to talk to Abby, he needed someone to help him with this. He didn't know how other than to keep showing him how much he loved him. 

"Around here the iceberg shatters and becomes a haz-mat situation." Jack said. "I'd recommend _slowing the fuck down_ since you already smashed into one thing on this route this week and we're on our maiden voyage to our first Eureka date night." 

"T he course of true love did never run smooth.” Nathan quoted as he slowed down, again. “Nor do our conversations. _That_ quote, _that_ does apply to us, from the play. However we're coming out of the confusion in the woods just fine and much stronger. We'll live the dream for the rest of our lives and you'll frustrate me every damned day thinking you don't deserve it.”

"I love you and I know you love me, but it's so hard to believe it's real." Jack said with a smile. "That you're real. "

"I'm _right here_ and _we're married_." Nathan said rolled his eyes. "What's it going to take for you to stop questioning that?"

"I don't know." Jack said and looked down at his hands, at his wedding ring. "Time? Things are great and then it scares me that it might disappear. I question things, but nature, it's hard to not feel..."

"Doomed?" Nathan asked. "Like the Titanic?" 

Jack watched a hand materialize over his own, Nathan's. "Habit. I retreat out of habit and I am trying to break that habit. I thought I had the dream once and then I came home and it was all gone and I didn't know what went wrong or what I did wrong. I still don't. Then I come to realize that it might have been the dream I really thought it was."

"This is about us?" Nathan squeezed his hand. Ok. He definitely didn't need to talk to Abby. Abby needed to leave and stop being a reminder of his past. "Is this about how you had one story of us you had been telling, but the truth is revealing itself to be a little different?" 

"Yeah." Jack said and swallowed hard. "It bothers me that this story I happily told about us was actually so shallow and hurt you. Just a small gash in the wrong place can sink a ship, you know?"

"I appreciate the Titanic analogies, and I'm glad you're not referring to the movie at all, but maybe you should stop looking at everything else to explain _us_. " Nathan said. "We're writing our own story and people are going to see it as the ultimate love story and not compare it to anything that has ever been done before. We'll overshadow anything that's every been written, every piece of fiction, with our own reality."

Jack looked up and out the window. He had to let that sink in because he didn't want to keep doing this to Nathan. "You're right. It's just funny parallels."

"Only when you hunt for them."

"We're going into the woods, but we find juicy bodies and speed drugs." Jack said as they passed the tree Nathan hit with his car. Tire marks were still on the road and in the dirt on the side of the road. “Didn’t Dante also go into the woods to go to hell in the Inferno? While we’re talking literature.”

“Now you’re just mixing up everything. There is a lot going on in Midsummer Night's Dream, but at no point in this play does Dante Alighieri meet Virgil in the woods to elope.” Nathan said and could hear it in Jack's voice he was uncomfortable with the spot they just passed, he could also feel it in how he squeezed his hand. It was time to get back on a lighter subject.

“It could happen? I don’t think Shakespeare had tentacle monsters, jet packs, and an alien invasion in his original play either.” Jack said with a smile. "Could spice things up a bit. Make _one hell_ of a crossover." 

“You're not dreaming this and you're not dead and in heaven with this as your afterlife. This is reality, this is us. We're just that good and perfect that it's hard to believe anything on Earth could be this good.” Nathan smiled back. 

"You're right." Jack said and his smile made it easier to chase away the doubt again. He wished he could get that under control, Nathan had to be tired of reassuring him.

“As far as the play, costume changes and setting are a long way from changing dialogue and adding in a whole different book.”

“Sounds like everyone’s tripping on drugs, anything can happen.” Jack said. “It’s like my hippie sister’s high school years: Drugs, boyfriends and girlfriends I couldn’t keep track of, my parents threatening to send her to a convent. Good times.”

“Which book are we talking about?  _ Midsummer Night's Dream _ or  _ The Inferno _ ?”

“Depends on the year.” Jack said with a shrug.

“Why did I want to discuss this with you?” Nathan asked. 

“You love my insight.” Jack replied, honestly. “That why you were only _ sort of  _ pissed I let your robot get turned on and slip into my house’s access panel, because you saw it as a practical application test run and me the average user who might just sit the robot down on the couch and watch some monkeys fuck.”

“If you say so.” Nathan smirked. He was right. Allison would have flipped out, Jack stayed and bantered while he tried to fix the situation. Jack showed him the error of his thinking most times, Ally only blamed him for being wrong and ruining the picture of what things should be. 

“Wonder if Neil Baxter is Bottom, the monkey video Viagra is the fairy love juice you spread on your eyeballs, and Eureka the fantasyland forest he uses for his kinky plays.” Jack mused.

“How your mind connects things, never fails to amaze me.” Nathan shook his head. Jack was getting back to work, he was uncomfortable with something and was going to retreat back to work. Something he was confident in, something that he was amazingly adept at. Nathan did that too, so he could spot it from a mile away.

“Are you sure Baxter’s monkeys are in Africa? Are you sure it’s not the test chimps from the PX-319 project and someone is just giving them a script to act out so they can relay sensitive information to spies of Eureka?” Jack asked and reached to turn on the radio. “Maybe this Baxter deal is all the ‘dream’ world that our spy is trying to put on as a play for us? To cover up their treason?”

“I am certain the monkeys are not in Eureka.” Nathan said, slapping Jack’s hand away from the radio.. “And, no, I won’t sing ‘Africa’ to prove I checked in on the monkeys in Tanzania.”

“If you’re in my dream, how will I know if this is real unless I demand things of you to prove to me that this isn’t just my imagination?” Jack asked. “I could just be in that hotel room back in Virginia with some love juice on my eyes making me think that you want me.”

“Why would you say that?” Nathan asked. “Why do you give me shit for thinking about alternative realities and then you come up with some dark, horrible scenario where you’re the victim of a drug cartel attack?”

“Because you won’t sing to me?”

“That proves nothing if I sing to you. It only proves you’re capable of lucid dreaming and your job has made you jaded and you like that song way too much.”

“You know…” Jack said as they got to the outskirts of town.

Nathan sighed again. “Here it comes.”

“I'm really happy the PX-319 beamed a paranoia alien movie into everyone’s heads and not Baxter’s monkey sex channel, that would have been a lot messier to walk in on than just a lab with heavily armed people and barrels of whale bits. Even if it was _sperm_ whale bits. Your sperm.” Jack looked over at him as he sighed. “It’s movie night at Spencer’s again, is the PX-319 pointed in the right direction?”

“Yes.” Nathan said and looked at him. “However I am not sure what direction  _ you’re  _ pointing in at the moment other than wanting to go to your office to check in with your Deputy while I order dinner.”

“Yes, please.” Jack said with a smile. “I want to update her on Andy and also give her a pep talk about her date tonight.”

“I’ll drop you off at the door.” Nathan said. He wanted to also talk something out with his friend because he was really worked up about teh town mocking him with this high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. "So you can tell her you kissed Andy and he lost his virginity."

“You mean, park in my spot because Cafe Diem is packed for dinner and you don’t want to walk from the parking lot?” jack asked. He could see Nathan read through everything, that he was giving him some space to work out what was bothering him. 

“Police business.” Nathan said as he pulled into Jack’s spot. “This is also proof I’m real because your imagination would make me obey traffic laws.”

“Oh... _ you’re good _ .” Jack said. 

"The best." Nathan replied. "Hurry up with your debrief. I'll warm up my vocal cords and be here ready to serenade you when you get back."

Jack stared at him as he pressed the button on the radio. Doubt was gone. No way he could dream up Nathan, he definitely didn't have this level of creativity.

"What? It's easier than warming up dinner." Nathan said with a warm smile. "Go talk to Jo and when you get back, I'll sing your damned song."

"I really love you."

"I know you do." Nathan said and waved to the Sheriff's Office indicating he needed to hurry up because none of this fit into their date night schedule. "So don't make us late."


	120. Jack shall have Jill, Nought shall go ill

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 120

**Jack shall have Jill, Nought shall go ill**

* * *

“Why didn’t you tell me I couldn't leave the robot unattended watching porn?” Jack asked his Deputy as he walked into the office and saw Jo sitting at her desk.

“I’m not the robot enthusiast and I never read the manual for the A.N.D.Y. model.” Jo said and leaned back in her chair and smiled at him. “So, did you get yelled at? _Spanked_ , perhaps?”

“Andy fucked my house.”

Jo dropped her pencil and started laughing. “Oh my god! S.A.R.A.H….”

“Yeah, not so innocent S.A.R.A.H. who has naked holograms of Nathan on tap like he’s the craft beer selection.” Jack said and went and sat on her desk as she laughed at him. “I also...accidentally... kissed him.”

“Who?” Jo asked and saw his expression and her eyes went wide. “Damn, once you turn on that sex drive you just get _the works_. How was your scientist/robot/cop threesome? Isn’t this how Frankenstein went down? Or is this how RoboCop was made?”

“I thought Andy was Nathan." Jack clarified. "It was dark, because S.A.R.A.H. blew a breaker when she climaxed, so I thought the guy on the couch was my husband because Nathan had implied he was heading home to get naked and ready for a celebratory hour in bed and….it wasn’t him.”

“Carter!”

“And Andy's skin is the same skin as Baxter’s silicone substitute body.”

“JACK!” Jo screamed and had to cover her eyes as tears started to fall. “Why are you telling me this!?”

“Because the robot doctor lectured me about how irresponsible I was with his special robot gift and how I should be treating him like a child and not some machine while he learns how to be human.” Jack said and shook his head. “ _And_ I really needed someone to have a proper reaction to how horrible this situation was that wasn’t a scientist.”

“So...you left Andy _in S.A.R.A.H._?” Jo asked as she got her laughing under control.

“Both of them are still recovering from what I gather was one hell of an overload.” Jack said and shook his head. “Andy was still sitting on the couch when we left with a huge smile on his face and Nathan just seemed to think that was Ok, so...if he's the expert I wasn't going to question it. I don’t know what I’m walking into tonight?”

“Wow. At least you have a new cabin, right?” Jo said.

“Actually that got destroyed during the Weather Machine of Death test.” Jack said and she wasn't really surprised. Ah, Eureka!

“Well isn’t that convenient?” Jo said and narrowed her eyes. “Is WeatherMan Pete still in lockup at GD?”

“He is. I thought maybe you could take Andy over there and ask him about it this weekend?”

“Andy, who was already glitchy and weird before he had the best sex of his life?”

“Well, I don’t know if he can still talk as his jaw might be dislocated by the huge smile on his face, but if he can talk I think Pete Puhlman might enjoy hearing about Andy’s experiences in the bunker: Between the torture of B.R.A.D. to the inspirational Baxter experiments that lead to finding the sweeter side of S.A.R.A.H.”

“Dare I ask, why?” Jo asked. "I'm not saying I won't, just curious what your reasoning is here."

“Because the cabin that was destroyed was both a place of pleasure and pain for Pete, in addition to being a crime scene full of evidence of treason.” Jack said. “And Andy is a robot who would have seen all the code on the walls and in the livestream monkey saga. I think the bombardment of all that info might make Pete crack. Or seeing Andy's face frozen in that smile might do the trick too. I don't know how the robot talks, mechanically?”

“Are you just trying to give me your robot so you can have a weekend alone with your husband?” Jo asked. “Are you making me babysit your robot, Carter?”

“I’m trying to give you someone who can watch the office so you can kinda have a free weekend too?” Jack offered and Jo raised her eyebrows. “You and I both have important date nights tonight and I really think we deserve to be a little selfish this weekend.”

“That’s….a lot of pressure.” Jo said and looked at the pencil on her desk. She was trying to avoid thinking about her date, she was already pretty nervous.

“It doesn’t have to be.” Jack said. “I make things more complicated than they should be and I look at everything but what’s in front of me. It’s hard not to see everything that’s going on around us and just enjoy ourselves, so I needed to tell you that as much as I needed to tell myself that.”

“Thanks.” She said. She had been contemplating backing out of her dinner date, finding some emergency she had to attend to, because dinner with Taggart was more serious than just fooling around. It was the start of something and that was a hell of a commitment. “So what are you still doing here if your husband is waiting on you for dinner?”

“I’m giving him a chance to feel important in my parking spot and warm up his vocal cords so he can sing to me.” Jack grinned. “I also needed to get my head straight because he also reads into everything and some of the dumb things I do really hurt him a lot.”

“Taggart sings to me, _in whale_.” Jo said and shook her head. “I...never in my life thought I’d say that aloud and admit I find it endearing.”

Jack gave her a salute as he backed out of the office. “Tell me how it goes, call me if you need me. I made sure there is no paranoia beam aimed at Spencer’s trailer this time.”

“Good, I don't _ever_ need to have that experience again.”

“Do you have different reasons to use that exam table in Taggart’s basement now?” Jack said with a wink.

“You better believe it.” Jo said and smiled warmly at him as he left to go back to Nathan who apparently was a little songbird for him now. Who would have thought Nathan Stark would be such a soft-hearted sap.

Jack scooted out the door and saw that Nathan was still in the car, so he got back in for his private concert. His husband looked serious, though. “What? I was only gone for like five minutes, what happened?””

Nathan shook his head. “Nothing happened, I just want to say one thing before I drop the subject for the evening."

"Ok?" Jack replied, worried. Things turned hot and cold around here so fast and not just at the hot springs.

"As much as I love you for being the upholder of the law and seeing what lurks under the surface, I need you to put that aside when it comes to our relationship. I know I see the world in what can be the future if we ignore the laws established by those before us, laws that only should be set as a bar to show where we were and where we should push beyond. I know you see the world in what was the past, what happens when laws are ignored and people push beyond right and wrong. I know you compare us to the past, the precedents set, the standards. I want you to live with me in the present; In our world, our life, where we set our own standard. Where nothing has been done like this before and everyone looks to the standard we set. "

Jack sat there and thought about those words as Nathan played with his own hand, twirling his wedding ring. 

"I just wanted to put that out there because you are one of a kind and nobody can compare to you. You’re unique and incredible. " Nathan said. “I hate that you worry so much about what you’ve done, what I could do, and what everyone thinks.”

"I feel like there is some sciency stuff you want to add." Jack said. “Because you base your opinions like this in science and I do want to hear what you’re thinking.”

Nathan smiled. Jack was trying to give him a reason to relax and be more comfortable, talking about his work. "As an artificial intelligence guy, my goal is to make computers as human as possible. You have shown me that there is no way I can predict and code _ real  _ intelligence."

"Are you...calling me smart?" Jack asked, confused.

"I'm saying intelligence is more than regurgitating information, it's about problem solving and how you use the knowledge.". Nathan looked over at him. "I love talking to you about everything, and nothing, because you make connections that open up new worlds to me. I have access to an amazing key to the answers to the universe in the Artifact and yet one car ride with you and my mind is tripping over itself thinking about Dante and Virgil walking into a Shakespeare play."

Jack smirked. "Maybe you should write it. Make it a musical. Call it Dante’s Mid-Life Crisis Dream: The fairy circle of hell."

Nathan smiled. He loved him _so_ much. He could never come up with something like that on his own. "Never stop talking to me. Never hold back. I love your thoughts, I love the confusion it brings me while I try to predict what connections you make in that brain of yours. All my PhDs mean nothing compared to the ideas that you present to me as just a joke or a passing thought. Never keep those to yourself, I want to hear everything you can tell me."

"So you can code better AIs?" Jack asked. It wasn’t a serious question, but he also had to remember that Nathan thought in practical application of knowledge too. Its how he was trained and how he processed things.

"So I can continue to see the world like you do." Nathan answered and then looked at his hands again. "Even if you're changing topics just to find answers, or problems,  _ or _ verbally walk away from something you're not comfortable with. I want to follow you on that journey because it's unlike anything I've ever experienced and….walking beside you stops me from trying to grab and hold you somewhere you don't want to be."

"I'm always running, aren't I?" Jack said, realizing that a lot of how he thought and talked was a coping mechanism. He could always find some path where he could be if he didn’t like where he was standing. 

"Like you said, just habit to keep yourself safe. Like me trying to control where you go through my job.". Nathan said. "Habits are formed for reasons"

“Well, let’s start forming good habits together now.” Jack said and pressed the button on the radio and grinned. “Date night, every Friday, is a thing, starting now.”

Nathan smirked as the opening notes of Africa started to play and Jack smiled at him knowing what was coming. His statement was meant to say that their date could just be sitting in a car with this song on the radio, it was a reminder to stand still and enjoy the present. Nathan took it as a challenge to surprise Jack every damned Friday for the rest of their lives with some version of this song. He could be unpredictable too.


	121. If We Shadows Have Offended

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 121

**If We Shadows Have Offended**

* * *

  
  


"Well  _ that _ can't be good."

Nathan looked over Jack's shoulder at what he was referring to as they walked into Cafe Diem. There, at a booth together, were their ex-wives. "Eh."

" _ Eh _ ?" Jack asked, wondering how he could be so nonchalant about this.

"You asked Abby here for closure and maybe Ally can help her with that. I'm sure they're both looking for answers as to how things got to this point." Nathan said and put a protective hand on his shoulder. Or maybe possessive. He was sure he'd find out which at their next couples therapy session with Beverly as she was watching them from the counter.

"So we're just going to have dinner together and ignore them?” Jack asked as Nathan pulled him by the shoulder to the more secluded table in the corner. 

Nathan shrugged. " _ They're _ having dinner  _ without us _ . Besides, I made reservations for _ two _ ."

"You did?" Jack asked as he and Nathan made it to the table and his husband pulled out the chair for him.

"On this rare occasion when I have you in my presence and you have the weekend off? Yes." Nathan said and instead of waiting for Jack to sit, as he had that classic look of Carter confusion on his face, he just moved around to sit down on his side. 

“When?”

“When I was waiting on you to get dressed.” Nathan said. “After I turned Andy off, checked on S.A.R.A.H.’s diagnostic run, and still had plenty of time to make coffee and call in a dinner reservation as you spent ten minutes picking out one of the three shirts I brought from the other house for you.”

“I…” Jack sat down and looked down at his shirt. “I over thought it. I thought that one had to be a trap.”

“Why?” Nathan said and noticed that Jack’s eyes flickered over at Abby before he could stop himself. “Oh.”

“I like blue because of my profession.” Jack said, repeating what he heard a million times about his boring wardrobe. “And that I like presenting a feeling of harmony with a soothing color.”

“Your eyes are blue, the shirt matches your eyes.” Nathan said and rolled his eyes. “Psychology is bullshit. Sometimes a color is just a color.”

“And that purple shirt of yours befits a King. Power and ambition ooze from the purple hue.” Jack said and could tell Nathan was annoyed with his whimsical tone. He sounded like one of those TV physics and he knew it. “You’re unique and you don’t mind not fitting in, but people look at you as a visionary. Charismatic with a touch of arrogance, that is the wearer of the purple shirt. And your eyes are not purple, thank God.”

“It’s your favorite shirt for me to wear.” Nathan said as he looked down at his shirt. “And that version of color theory is less of a mood ring and more of a scammer app on Facebook for people who want a color to tell them their own personality.”

“There is evidence it works, look at advertising. Or cinema.” Jack said as he reached out to grab Nathan’s hand as he looked about ready to start throwing the salt and pepper shaker in Abby’s direction for ever making him question what he was wearing.

“We’re not talking about that, we’re talking about how your shirt color apparently dictates your personality. Or your mood. Or anything.” Nathan frowned. “Might as well consult your horoscope for today’s vague predictions.”

“Want me to call my sister?” Jack asked with a laugh. “She’d love to debate the relevance of that with you.”

Nathan smirked. “I can’t wait to meet her. Or your parents.”

“Yeah, gotta wait for them to stop traveling first.” Jack said and frowned. “I guess we Carters have a bit of wanderlust.”

“A _bit_?” Nathan asked with raised eyebrows. 

Jack narrowed his eyes at him. “Well, do I have to wait for you to win a Nobel again to meet  _ your  _ parents?”

“It would probably be easiest.” Nathan mused. “I don’t see us having any other reason to go to Switzerland.”

“Maybe someone needs a water heater repaired at CERN?” Jack asked and Nathan cracked a smile. Talking about Nathan’s parents always made him distant and Jack wondered how they would react to him. He knew Nathan had told them he got remarried, but he didn’t know how much detail he shared. He seemed to be content to just keep details to himself, part of his mystery and detachment from people. It wasn’t about him, Jack knew that, it was most definitely about _them_. 

“Doubtful.” Nathan said. “I did send them an invitation to the wedding. I expect them to ask why I’m wasting time getting remarried when I am already married.”

“Want me to tell them you’re a dramatic bitch who wants to flaunt his amazing marriage in front of everyone in Eureka?” Jack asked. "And sing Africa by Toto?"

“They’re not going to leave work for a wedding, certainly not a wedding to a man I already am married to.” Nathan shrugged. It was simple fact and he didn't fault them for seeing it as a waste of time. He didn't have a wedding either time he was married for the same reason, but now...now it was different. 

“Not even to visit Eureka?” Jack asked. "Science Utopia that it is?"

“They think Eureka is shit.” Nathan snorted. “They feel like we’re whoring out to the government.”

“You...sort of are?” Jack said.

“No wonder you and Henry get along so well.” Nathan said and leaned back as Vincent arrived with their meals. “By the way, I ordered for you.”

“I guess we’ll see how well you…”Jack watched a prime rib materialize in front of him, perfectly pink and with a side of potatoes and Au Jus. Nathan smirked at him. “Love me, a lot.”

“Bon Appetit.” Vincent said as he placed a similar plate in front of Dr. Stark. “Beer and wine are coming right up. I wanted to get this out to you since it just finished cooking.”

Nathan watched Vincent disappear as Jack looked at his dinner and drooled a little. “And for the record, blue is associated with stability, loyalty, confidence, wisdom, trust and truth. I most certainly do love that color on you. It suits you. You wear it well.”

Jack swallowed hard. It was funny how, despite being married, Nathan knew how to say things that made him blush a little and his heart flutter. And do things for him that showed him how much he loved him. 


	122. All the World's A Stage

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 113

**All the World’s a Stage**

* * *

“This…” Abby said with awe as she walked into the school auditorium. “Is quite the production for a  _ school _ play.”

“Putnam is a little over the top.” Jack explained as he looked up at the drones buzzing around the auditorium that were hopefully supposed to be spaceships not actual attack drones that had escaped GD. "He's a visionary."

“I saw.” Abby said and looked over her shoulder at him as they went down the aisle. “Nathan gave his ex-wife an invitation to your wedding and she shared it with me.”

“Ah.” Jack said and looked ahead of them as Nathan walked with Allison and Kevin to their seats. “I’m a little more sensitive about my first marriage and moving on than he is. He likes to flaunt things and I prefer to dwell on the fallout.”

“So you don’t want me to come?" Abby asked with a smile. 

“Abby...” Jack objected because she liked to just give answers and never let him get a chance to reply. He called it leading the witness, she called it exploring options.

“Or you thought I’d feel like you were rubbing it in my face?” Abby asked and Jack gave her that look that said he genuinely didn’t want to cause any more tension between them. 

“Yeah.” Jack said, everything was a multiple choice answer with Abby. She and Nathan were such extremes. “I’m feeling a little guilty here because I’ve moved on and you clearly weren’t expecting me to.”

“I ignored the signs you were unhappy for a long time, Jack.” Abby said as she stopped and turned to look at him. “I should have known better. It’s my job to help people overcome their issues and repair relationships and I should have recognized what was going on between us.”

Jack nodded. “I do want you to come to the wedding, Abby. I really do.”

“I want you to be happy, Jack.” She said and looked over at Allison and Nathan. “I don’t want to be them.”

Jack’s eyebrows raised. “ _Woah._ What did you two talk about?”

“I won’t get into that but Allison is very entitled and it made me realize that somewhere along the way I expected you to make up for not being home by doing more than your share when you were home.” Abby said and sighed. “I knew the stress of your job, I knew the emotional toll, but I only saw that you loved the work and reasoned that you loved the job more than your family.”

“That wasn’t the case.” Jack protested.

“I made it the case.” She said. “By making you feel like you were attacked every time you came home. Excluding you from decisions about Zoe. Competing with you over work. I wasn’t a partner, I was the protagonist in my own story and you were an easy scapegoat. I filled the void you left with statistics and stereotypes because it was easier than admitting I had a part in what we became.”

“ _ What _ did you guys talk about over dinner?” Jack asked incredulously.

“That woman,” Abby said and looked over at Allison as she hovered over her son while his father tried to engage with him. “Needs to realize that she’s her own barrier to happiness.”

Jack looked over at Allison and wondered what the hell she said. “Is this about me telling her to stop trying to fix Kevin?”

“She needs a real therapist.” Abby said. “Whatever your resident therapist is doing, is not helping anyone’s issues. In fact, it's making them worse and making people dependent on her. Making her indispensable as a depository for feelings that get in the way of productivity and ego. I offered an ear if she needed to talk about our common dilemma. ”

“Which is... _ your ex-husbands _ ?”

“That picture of you and Nathan.” Abby said to him with a smile. “You two are the picture of what we wanted but never allowed ourselves the freedom to have. Actually, we may have never been capable of unlocking that in either of you. You’re so impetuous and in love and it’s fantastic. Jack, you and I...were responsible and thought we knew everything. You and Nathan, have balanced the responsibility and desire and know too much. I know you’ve had to overcome a lot to embrace this opportunity and that you struggle with the guilt and question yourself, but you’re already over that hurdle and shouldn’t be afraid of that momentum taking you into this at full speed. Into him.” 

“And her?” Jack asked as he looked up and saw Nathan trying to explain something to Allison that was clearly about work and Kevin and he was struggling to stay relaxed. "What's Nathan going to have to overcome?" 

“She genuinely hopes that her ex-husband was always more into men than women so that she can get an easy explanation for how she lost him to you.” Abby said. “She thought with how you two fought, that it was all going to repeat and show that Nathan was just too closed off emotionally to be engaged in a marriage. Then you two reconciled and made this town reassess what love really was. That picture on your invitation, is a pure snapshot of the love you want to celebrate at your wedding, and it’s stunning. It’s great you have that. You and I never were able to put aside anything long enough to be that in love.”

“Thanks.” Jack said softly, genuinely.

“No problem.” She said. “I hope I can still help you with this Beverly woman, I have some professional questions for how she handles Allison and Nathan.”

Jack grinned as she started to walk towards their seats again. “Oh, we can arrange for you to have lunch with her. I’m sure.” 

Nathan was glad Jack was on the move again, he was really having a hard time keeping things casual with Allison as she kept pushing him for information about Kevin’s drawings, the team he submitted them to for analysis, and the MPH tests. “Ready to take our seats? 

“Yes.” Jack said enthusiastically. 

“Isn’t that the principal?” Abby asked as she looked over at the man they had met. “I wanted to talk with him about those tests Zoe took.”

_ “Now? _ ” Jack asked as she flagged the man down with a smile and a wave. 

“Best to catch him off guard, isn’t that how you like to interrogate people?” Abby asked as Dr. Ewing approached.

Nathan quirked an eyebrow as Jack muttered under his breath. There was an issue with the tests Zoe took? Perhaps the one where she was a near perfect match for a future in robotics? “Did you not agree with the results, Abby?”

“This isn’t about the results, it’s about Abby wanting to antagonize this guy with her expertise.” Jack said.

“Now _who_ does that remind me of?” Allison said and smiled at Nathan.

Nathan and Jack exchanged looks. Good intentions seldom went unpunished. So much for this portion of date night going smoothly.

“Ah, Dr. Carter.” Ewing said and smiled at her. “I have not had the chance to review your email. Sheriff Carter, Dr. Blake, Dr. Stark, thank you for your support of our school play.”

Jack grinned at him. “Well, you know, can't miss a play about lovers, drugs and fairies.”

Nathan smiled and somehow managed to not laugh. That statement managed to take the steam right out of Abby and confound Ally. Ewing look disgusted that Jack would boil the play down to that. 

“Interesting take on A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sheriff Carter.” Dr, Ewing said, disappointment evident in his tone.

Jack smiled. He didn’t know that was 'The Stark Notes' version. “Yeah, I’m curious who picks the school play? Like, who actually chooses what play they are going to do? Director’s choice or…”

“It’s a random draw.” Ewing said. “We have a suggestion box and the drama department enjoys the challenge put forth by their peers. This time, the winner was none other then Kevin Blake.”

Nathan was glad it was dim in the theater because his face lost a little color. He saw Jack react to that information too and they both looked at Kevin who smiled sheepishly at them, but definitely looked like someone who had finally been caught doing something. There was absolutely nothing random about the draw and Nathan doubted there was anything random about the issues that allowed Jack and Zoe to see that Eureka was way _way_ more than just a small town in Oregon.


	123. See first that the design is wise and just; that ascertained, pursue it resolutely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the Eureka Discord Server’s series rewatch, I learned that Susan Perkins was reading “Science and the Akashic Field” In the pilot. I MUST USE THIS KNOWLEDGE NOW.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 123

**See first that the design is wise and just; that ascertained, pursue it resolutely**

* * *

Jack reached over and squeezed Nathan’s arm in reassurance and in an attempt to keep anyone from looking too closely at his stunned face. “Hey, I’m going to go backstage and wish Zoe good luck.”

Dr. Ewing huffed in annoyance. “I’m sorry, Sheriff Carter, but if you checked the program, your tickets, or read the  _ many _ signs in the hallway, you would know that parents are prohibited from going backstage to see the actors. Per request of the director.”

“Well…” Jack said with a smart grin. “I’m the Sheriff and we’ve already established you have a drug problem in this school and I hear this Puck is dealing drugs. Police business. Gotta check it out.”

“That’s abuse of power, don’t you think?” Ewing asked, digusted.

Jack squeezed Nathan’s shoulder and rubbed his back and smiled broadly, “Well, I guess _ this  _ Director has been rubbing off on me while he was rubbing other things. I’ll be back.”

Nathan couldn’t help but laugh a little as Jack darted up the aisle before Ewing could stop tripping over his own tongue to form a rebuttal. Ally looked uncomfortable but Abby seemed to be used to that sort of thing from Jack. Always running somewhere, utilizing honestly as a weapon. 

“Care to elaborate on this drug problem, Dr. Ewing?” Abby asked. “To a concerned parent?”

“It’s classified, unfortunately.” Nathan said and saved Ewing from having to explain MPH and Dylan Hartwell to Abby. “Sometimes our student interns get a little too invested in projects and want to work on them at home. Jack is being Jack, simplifying something that is a little more complicated.”

Abby gave Nathan an understanding nod before turning back to Dr. Ewing, “Well, perhaps, Dr. Ewing, you have time then to discuss my critique of your IQ test.”

“I’m sorry Dr. Carter, I have other parents to greet.” Ewing said and simply turned and left to find someone else to argue with.

Jack zipped through the crowd and found his way around the auditorium to the hallway filled with costumes, fuel tanks and drones. More than a few tentacles too. He was limited on time so he ignored the urge to stop and ask if those fuel tanks were full or just props. He dodged a couple kids and walked back stage, moving with authority and urgency in order to avoid being snagged by security.

_Why_ was there security? 

Putnam? Sure, he could see him acting like this was a secure set. Those canisters of mystery fuel? Well....he'd like to think Ewing wouldn't want to have another incident in his school with damned near every parent in attendance. Borrowed GD drones? Survey said, yes, as they were all labelled but drones came in many shapes, sizes and uses. Still.... 

No. He was going to ruin things for Zoe by asking questions about this highly suspicious scenario. This was her night and all he was supposed to do back here was wish her good luck. He should have brought flowers but he didn’t know if he was going to be able to sneak backstage or not, so he left them in the car for later. 

“Excuse me, you’re not supposed to be backstage.” 

Jack slipped behind some apparatus that he hoped was for the play. The security kids were serious around here, he looked like he had some kind of taser? He hoped that was a prop! It looked like a 'ray gun' from an old sci-fi show. “Just two seconds, gotta, Sheriff out someone.”

“I’m sorry but…” 

Jack ducked down behind a crate as Putnam showed up.

“Where are my cybernetic fairies!” Putnam called out as he walked through the chaos. “Fairies, assemble!”

Jack hunched down behind racks of clothes, no...tentacle costumes, and kept looking for his kid. He had no idea what her new costume looked like and it was dark and...there she was! Jack smiled as he saw her, looking like some silvery, devil catwoman, and looking anxious as hell. “Zoe!”

“Dad!” Zoe turned as her Dad materialized out of a rack of tentacles. 

“How you doing?” Jack asked and wrapped himself up in a tentacle costume just to escape the eye of security. 

“I’m psyching up.” She admitted and he grabbed her hand.

“I know.” Jack said and made sure none of the tentacles actually touched her hand. OK now he was getting a little worked up himself because he just had a flashback to the feeling of those suction cups on his dick. 

Zoe watched him throw the costume off, kick it a few times and launch it into the clothing rack. _He_ was the reason there was enhanced security. Putnam got a read on him super fast. “I don’t think you’re supposed to be back here. Putnam lectured us on parents interfering…”

“I just wanted you to know that I’m here….this time.” Jack said and she smiled at him. “And you’re going to be great. Break a leg.”

“Thanks, Dad.” She said and felt her nerves ease a little.

“And if you screw up, there is always tomorrow night.” Jack said and that got the look of annoyance he was accustomed to.

“Great pep talk.” She said, but it had the effect he was going for. 

“And I hope the drugs the fairies use are _not_ from Dylan’s stash or someone else’s science fair project because that would be a felony if you were caught distributing.” Jack said and watched her smile grow and her relax even more. “That’s like, a minimum 2 years jail time, 4 since it's in a school zone.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” She said and he grinned at her, triumphantly. Proud he knew how to say the right thing to make her forget what she was anxious about.

“You’ll be great.” He said again. Just proud as hell of her for this. It was all hitting him now, she was the lead in the play. Shakespeare. Eureka. From runaway to the runway in two damned weeks.

“Sheriff Carter?” Putnam said with not even an attempt to mask his annoyance.

“Putnam!” Jack said and turned to the kid. Time to babble and get the hell out of here and to his seat. “Break a leg, buddy. Really excited about this whole alien take on Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hey, ever consider doing a little fusion between Shakespeare and Dante? Imagine...Dante meeting Virgil in the woods with the fairies and going on a little acid trip to hell with his tour guide? I mean... _woah_. ”

Putnam considered it and nodded approvingly. “I like the way you think, Sheriff.”

“Ok, talk later.” Jack said and waved to Zoe as he left, noticing she was smiling now. He dodged people and things as he made his way to the door, then made it out to the hallway a different way than he came in. It was right by the bathroom which seemed like a great stop prior to sitting down for a few hours. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who thought it a good idea as Nathan and Kevin were approaching. “Hey! Great minds think alike, huh?”

“Or I knew how much beer you drank at dinner and I know how log it takes for you to process it.” Nathan said and Kevin clung to his hand. “Plus Ally and Abby were getting into a discussion about the school IQ test and the overwhelming pressure bubble of protective parents shot us right out the door.”

“Right into me.” Jack said and looked at Kevin. “How convenient.”

“A lot of that going on around here, huh Kev?” Nathan said as Kevin looked up at him. “So, the good news is that I doubt you were cast as Bottom.”

“I hope not.” Jack said and looked down at Kevin who was just grinning in delight like he was happy they finally caught on to him. “So that’s why you talked to me when I first came to town? You knew I married your Dad?”

Nathan watched Kevin nod. “I told him I got remarried. I told him it didn’t change anything. I didn’t send him a picture or tell him your name or job….”

Jack bent down and looked at Kevin at his eye level. “How’d you know? I can only assume you helped Zoe, did she contact you first?”

Kevin nodded.

“Partners in crime, huh?” Jack said and looked up at Nathan who looked worried. More worried than he should be about two kids pulling a 'Parent Trap' on them. “What about the thing with the Tachyon Accelerator? How did you know that was going to blow? And when it was going to happen so Zoe could be here for it?”

“It’s because he’s able to connect to the Akashic Field.” Nathan said and Jack looked confused.

“I’ve heard of that before.” 

“Maybe I mentioned it when we talked about the Artifact?”

“No.” Jack said with a shake of his head. “I have no idea what it is. If you told me I would have a definition for it. I’ve seen that phrase before. The Artifact has something to do with all this?”

“Kevin’s been drawing it.” Nathan admitted and Jack stood up, eyes wide with very reasonable concern. “And no, I didn’t show him a picture of it either. I’m sure if we look at his drawings from before your appearance in Eureka, there is more than likely one that has an uncanny resemblance to you.”

“What are you saying? He’s psychic?” Jack asked. 

“No.” Nathan said and lowered his voice. “I’m saying that Kevin’s tied into the Artifact and the Akashic Field somehow. I’m saying I honestly have no idea how any of this is possible.”

“Well, that sucks.” Jack said and looked at Kevin who was just happy as could be hanging out with his Dad. “However, we’re going to say thank you for bringing us back together so we can be happy, Kevin. We’ll figure out the rest later because I need to pee and we need to take our seats before the play begins.”

Nathan smiled and Jack went to open the door for the bathroom and then snapped his fingers a few times and pointed wildly at him and Kevin. “You, need instructions?”

“No! Sucks!” Jack said. 

"Not here." Nathan and looked at him, disappointed. "This isn't a courthouse, it's a _school_."

"No! Not that!" Jack said, “I remember where I saw that. A book!”

“You lost me.” Nathan said. 

“There was _a book_ on Susan Perkin’s end table when I went to check out her house after she was found dead. _By Beverly,_ but we'll come back to that.” Jack said. “When I first got this job. I came back to hear she was dead and there was a funeral, and nobody thought it was suspicious circumstances so there was no autopsy and I just….”

“You’re you and you couldn't let it go.”

“Yeah. Allison kept going on and on about it being selfish to kill herself and I was so pissed I was here that I kinda let it slide and didn't do a full investigation.” Jack said and put his hands on his hips. “Jo wasn’t happy with me so when I said I was going to check out the house, she acted like I was questioning her detective work. I just wanted to get the hell away from her and this stupid job and figure shit out. So I went somewhere I felt like I wasn't out of place."

"A crime scene." Nathan said.

"Exactly. So I went alone and looked for evidence that there was anything awry and I saw that book on her end table. Heavy bedtime reading, especially since I had no idea what Akashic meant. The back of the book said it was about cosmic vacuums and seas of energies and I just put that bitch right back where I found it. I really thought that it was because Eureka was home to the Eureka vacuum cleaners and it was just a super intense user manual.”

“Oh, Jack.” Nathan said with a smile. Only him. 

“Susan Perkins was reading about the Akashic Field and that is no coincidence that her husband’s tachyon accelerator went off the rails when I showed up. Or, rather, clone Susan. Or that LoJack ran in front of my car so I could crash here on the day it happened?”

Nathan looked up as the lights blinked, indicating the play would be starting soon and the audience should take their seats. Or so he hoped. He couldn't help but look down at Kevin to see if he was somehow controlling the lights. “Bathroom, seats, we talk about this later.”

“Right, because book club today is about 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' and not some vacuum cleaner of knowledge sucking us in and cleaning things up.” Jack said and opened the door to the bathroom. “So if I’m not Bottom, where _do_ I fit in?”

Nathan raised his eyebrows as Dr. Ewing turned to look at them after drying his hands at the sink. Never a dull moment. Especially when Jack started humming ‘Africa’ as he walked to the urinal. Kevin giggled and let go of his hand to find an empty stall and Ewing tossed his paper towels in the trash as he left. 


	124. Give Me Your Hand, If We Be Friends

_ Dissolved  _

Chapter 114

**Give Me Your Hand, If We Be Friends**

* * *

“It’s about reality, and illusion.” Abby said as she sipped her iced tea. “The reality and illusion of love.”

Jack sat at the table in Cafe Diem with Nathan, Abby and Allison. Kevin wisely chose to go do crosswords or dabble in crossworld travel wormholes over by the fireplace, he wasn’t sure, he just knew the brilliant kid had chosen wisely. Right now, Abby was using ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to passive aggressively take shots at Allison as they tried to discuss the play like adults. Nathan was _ not  _ helping.

“So, the perfect little picture of love could just be the work of a highly potent natural chemical?” Nathan asked and that got him a cold glare from Allison. “Lust not love? Love is more of an investment than a little romp in the woods, the dream requires a little more work than laying down and expecting things to fall into place. Love is about more than just physical attraction.”

Jack rubbed his face. He wasn’t sure what happened. When he and Nathan came back from the bathroom, Abby and Ally were at odds about IQ test results and a match of 'my kid is better than your kid'. Now Nathan and Abby were targeting Allison and it was all bad. Bad. Bad. Bad. “What I’d like more information on is the Changeling Boy Titania has. I, mean, is that an abduction case? Child slavery? What’s up with that kid? Do we need to be side-eyeing Oberon in his need to have him?”

“How could any woman fall for someone with the head of an ass without some kind of drug being involved?” Allison said smugly.

“Well some of us seem to feel drugs must be involved to have the illusion of normal, huh?” Nathan said. 

Jack shut his eyes. Oh God! This was so bad!

“What are you saying Nathan?” Allision shot back.

“I’m saying you need to stop trying to go around me to put Kevin on the MPH trial.” He replied simply. "Not going to happen. It's not some magic fairy dust that will suddenly make him see the world different." 

Then there was _ that.  _ Kevin got overstimulated during the second act and Nathan was willing to take him to the foyer and just hang out for a bit, but Allison took offense to that. Probably because Abby offered to sit and talk with him too. Super parents night turned out to be a whole lot more parenting than any of them had done in a while and Kevin got to be the recipient of all that thanks to Zoe being on stage. No scene was made, but it was a scene of chaos stolen from some Prime Time family drama when Allison and Nathan went out into the hall. He sighed and drank his beer. This time, none of this was his fault. 

“You know best, don’t you? You think it's all about being normal with him, being stable and calm and interacting like nothing is unique.” Allison said and leaned over to whisper. “Yet you’re the one who left us. You left. You think that was easy on him? You severed that connection, not me.”

Nathan couldn’t fault her for being upset, it seemed like everyone was ganging up on her and she was none too appreciative of Abby not taking her side. “What are you really upset about Ally? The fact that I bowed out after you shoved me out, or the fact that this didn’t turn into the love story you were expecting? It’s not magic Ally, and neither one of us had the energy to tolerate each other’s shit for very long. You can’t go into a high school play and sit for two hours without getting mad at me for trying to be here now and fix it, that's not on me. I won’t, however, fix anything with experimental drugs.”

“And you genuinely think some _ psychologist _ looking over Kevin’s drawings will be able to connect with him?”

“Hey!” Abby said coldly, knowing the dismissive tone about her profession was most definitely for her benefit.

Jack took the moment of silence and staring at each other to try and turn things normal again. “So...it seemed like the play was also a contrast of different types of relationships? Different people have really different marriages that work for them. Theseus and Hippolyta are kinda stable in comparison to Oberon and Titania who are into drugs and human trafficking. Drugs and human trafficking, brought us together Nathan, but in a different way. Neat play.”

Nathan appreciated what Jack was trying to do, defuse the tension and keep some semblance of harmony to this discussion. It didn’t make the issues go away, however. “Ally, can I have a word with you. Outside?”

“Fine.” She said with a tight smile and threw her napkin down and got up. 

Jack sighed as they both got up to go argue somewhere else. “Uh, how about you use my office since it’s away from the glass window where everyone can watch the show? Jo’s out on call, Spencer’s Movie Night is just rambunctious as hell.”

“Great idea.” Nathan said, monotone and cold. 

Abby leaned back in her chair as the couple left and shook her head. “She is _so_ jealous of you it’s blinding her.”

“Abby, a blind man could have seen that you might have helped fuel this a little with whatever  _ discussion _ you had while I was backstage and Nathan was in the bathroom.” Jack said. "This dumb man can recall many many conversations with lots of doctors around the table going _just like this_ over the years."

"Death by dull strikes again, huh?" She asked.

"I never meant that as pure about my boredom, but mainly about how you academic types get fired up enough about your work that you might just kill each other over it."

"Hardly ever is the case." Abby said and started to eat her dessert. "We spend years calling each other idiots through barely legible research papers riddled with technical jargon nobody can understand."

"Death by Dull." Jack repeated. It fit. "So what did you and Allison talk about?" 

“We talked about the school’s many tests, I questioned the validity of the IQ test since it’s created and administered by the principal. Which is absolutely reason for critique because it's not a universal test but an exclusive snapshot of that school he's in charge of, and she took offense. Kevin’s IQ is 182, so she’s going to defend that test no matter what just to have that prize. Pure ego.”

“Wow, this was not how I thought this weekend would go. I thought Nathan was going to pick a fight with you, now you’re both ganging up on Allison. What _the fuck_.” Jack laughed nervously. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you find a way to make me uncomfortable at a simple dinner with friends, family or colleagues.”

“The theme of the night is four people going into the woods with residual issues from past and current relationships. The stress of an upcoming wedding causes conflict and dreams of what could have been.” Abby smiled. “I thought _we were_ discussing the play?” 

“It was supposed to be a night together to just get to know each other and try and keep things civil as we go forward.” Jack said and should have known better. “I thought you’d be able to put aside this need to show off your ability to read people and point out their faults, even if it was just for Zoe.”

“You asked me here to help me with your past issues as well and from what I can see, you’re working on them just fine. Zoe can handle me bringing my professional side to the table as well as to her school.” She said. “Now, Nathan and Allison….they have issues that will continue to rear their ugly heads.”

“Good luck getting them into therapy.” Jack said and laughed a little. “Although it would be quite a bitch move to call them into the Director's house to do it. The house they used to live in. The house he and I plan to move into. Talk about setting up a session with subliminal messages, you’d get a trophy from Beverly for that set up.”

“I was going to behave, I was going to let it all go since I’m here for a few days and this is your new home, but for your sake I couldn’t. You and Nathan are too strong of a force to ignore.” Abby said. “This play is about magic, reality and _power_. Yes love is a major theme, but the way it’s treated it’s a reminder that it’s irrational and easily corrupted or influenced. It makes you question if it’s a dream or not. Jack, I say this because I’m struggling to accept it myself, there is no question that what you and Nathan have is real. It should be inspirational, but when you used to be mine….it’s hard to accept that you were capable of that just not with me.”

Jack opened his mouth to protest and she put her hand over his mouth.

“I know that’s not the case. You and I did not connect on that level. If anything we were influenced by the drug of maturity, responsibility and arrogance.” She took her hand back. “You and Nathan are the lovers that ran away to get married, and Allison and I are the two friends who follow you into the woods to try and stake a claim on that. We’re showing our asses on this. Allison more than me, but I understand the human psyche more than her. Beverly also understands emotions and if you all have these raw, unhealthy emotions exposed for her to play on then you’re more vulnerable than you know. She sees the power you two have as a threat, if what you tell me is accurate, and will try to use the easiest way possible to keep you in check. I’m picking at scabs to make them bleed, so you can recognize they need to be tended to by a professional so they can heal right.”

“I’m sure the medical analogy went over well.” Jack said. Happy she was here, but wishing she didn't have to upend everything to do her job. That....was just Abby. 

“Yeah, she asked why you have such a problem taking a physical for work? As a medical doctor, brought that up a few times to remind me of my place.” Abby cocked her head. “Expect that to come up next week. The physical. No avoiding it anymore, she wants this win pretty bad over your stubborn refusal to put yourself at her mercy.”

"Great." Jack said. Oh, the ex-wives were never going to get along.

"But you wanted to talk about the play right?" Abby said with a smile. "Zoe was amazing. The whole show was amazing. I can't believe how much our kid has transformed here."

"A play about a run away, someone who liked to trick people into doing things. Good part for her. Hope she thinks about the play as much as I apparently am." Jack smiled. “I think...you and I both had some running away from our problems too. You and I both...saw other people. Maybe influenced by that high of putting our head down and dreaming things were normal for a little bit. Then we came back out of it and found each other again. Ignored it, because the affairs weren't real. Just a little lapse in judgement. It became a cycle, and I broke it, and I think I surprised us both.”

“We were already broken, Jack.” Abby said and looked outside, thankful that Nathan and Allison were not on the sidewalk yelling at each other. “Not as broken as them.”

“So are you going to tell me about your conversation with Allison or do I have to guess?” Jack asked and Abby went back to picking at her food. “Was it the sperm donation?”

“That...did come up.”

“Yeah, it keeps coming up.” Jack said and Abby cocked an eyebrow. “Not in a sexual, digestive way, but in a distribution of power and genetics way. I love him, but he can be petty.”

“Says the man refusing to get a physical and refusing to take excellent insurance.”

“Touche.”

* * *

  
  


“What’s your problem?” Nathan snapped as soon as they got into Jack’s office and he turned on the lights. “You really want to get into it  _ tonight _ ? How fucking selfish are you?”

“How selfish are you gate-keeping the MPH trials so that you can keep your connection to Kevin and keep me from having that!” Allison shot back.

“Excuse me?” Nathan asked. “You’re going to pretend this is about Kevin and not about _me and Jack_?”

“Put your own ego aside for a minute and remember we are talking about _my son_!”

Nathan felt his face get hot. “ _ Your _ son. You demand I ‘fix him’ and then accuse me of refusing to do so because I connect better with him? Because I treat him like he’s, I don't know, a kid?”

“No, it’s about things not being what they seem to be” Ally said. “I know you’re showing Kevin’s drawings to.."

"I told you that!"

Allison yelled back, "You left out the part about who you were showing them to! Some team involved in some Section 5 project that Beverly is a part of? When were you going to tell me that?”

Nathan felt his rage ebb. Warning alarms went off in his head. He completely forgot about the overlap of Beverly onto the Artifact project because he was too worried about Kevin having a connection to the thing than the Artifact having a connection to Beverly. Of course they would consult her, she worked with Kevin, and Kevin was difficult to reach. She had the clearance now. Shit.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t tell you.” Nathan said, voice back to normal. “It’s classified.”

“My son isn’t classified.” Allison said.

“Ally, he’s more connected to everything than I can possibly understand.” Nathan explained. 

“Unclassify it or I’m leaving Eureka and taking Kevin with me.” She said. “You can’t keep answers to yourself, not about him.”

Nathan felt like the floor just dropped out from underneath him. He never thought she’d consider that and wasn’t sure if it was a bluff or not. All he could think about was the damage that would be done if Kevin was separated from the Artifact. “That would be a mistake. Ally, if you trust me with him, if you are genuinely upset you see progress with everyone but yourself, please recognize that your involvement will potentially cause a setback. You treat him different and he doesn't like upsetting you.”

“So now _I’m_ the problem?” She said and shook her head. "There's the theme of the night."

“No, you’re the greatest influence in his life and he will stop what he’s doing if he thinks it will upset or hurt you.” Nathan said and wondered why Kevin would bring him back here if it did hurt his Mom. He was gone for a year and then suddenly Kevin reeled him back in. About the time the Artifact arrived in Eureka. 

“Nathan, I know what you sound like when you’re trying to handle someone.” Allison said and crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly. “This isn’t some project or government contract, it’s Kevin. You either tell me everything or we’re done with you. I won’t have you treating my son like he’s an experiment.”

“Allison…”

“Done.” She repeated. “I’m going to get Kevin and go home. If you genuinely expect me to trust you, you’ll find a way to unclassify your findings and explain what the hell is going on.”


	125. Now to 'Scape The Serpent's Tongue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to keep the original dates from the show as honestly any date I use will eventually be 'dated'. Tech can be updated because at this point we're in a whole new timeline with this fic so why not embrace that alternative universe concept for my convenience? :)

Bouncing back to the Unpredictable episode where we see the KB-201 file indicating Kevin was part of a study At GD at Nathan's directive. 

[Previously on Eureka:](https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/624354343194345472) https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/624354343194345472 

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 125

**Now to 'Scape The Serpent's Tongue**

* * *

“KB-201” Nathan said and handed Allison his tablet. “Let’s start there.”

Allison sat down on her couch as Nathan went to the cabinet where she kept a bottle of Scotch just in case he would stop by. They had decided to bring Kevin home for bed and continue this discussion in a more private location. She looked at the tablet and tried not to react like he expected her to. He was sharing something with her that he shouldn’t and she should appreciate that. She wasn’t entitled, like someone implied, and she could appreciate the offer of the olive branch from a man who certainly didn’t care who hated him or not. He was also showing her classified information above her clearance, which as D.O.D. liaison, she should report to the higher ups. He was giving her the executioner axe if she wanted to use it, to get him out of Eureka so she didn't have to leave and taken Kevin from the one place he wasn't an outcast. She had to recognize how huge that was.

_ File: KB 201 _

_ Code: ERKA C-19 _

_ Subject: Kevin Blake _

_ Status: Prodigious Savant _

_ IQ: 182 _

_ File opened: 2001 _

She held her breath and tried to contain the anger she felt. This file had been open since before their arrival in Eureka. Nathan brought her here after they were married, but he had been working with Kevin ever since they first started dating. As a single mother it was hard to find a man who wouldn’t run the other way when they heard kids were already involved, even in the scientific community. Men were still men. However, Nathan had been gorgeous, brilliant and infatuated with her and had readily accepted her son, issues and all. Now...she wondered what came first: Kevin’s promising future as a lab rat or Nathan's interest in her which had always taken a back seat to his work. 

“I’m going to say goodnight to Kevin if you don’t mind?” Nathan asked as he downed his Scotch. He hated it here. He hated this house. He hated the scrutiny and the feeling he was walking in a 3 dimensional minefield. He hated begging and asking for permission. He hated feeling like he was just waiting to be sentenced for a crime he committed and he never got a chance to defend himself. He hated that this house was a symbol of their first break apart, where Ally had first retreated with Kevin and taken a huge step away from him. 

Allison couldn’t do more than nod. They looked at each other in silence for a moment and she saw in his face the genuine discomfort of knowing that this would go poorly and that he might only get one last chance to say goodnight to his son. She swallowed hard. She never doubted his love for Kevin, why was she doing so now? Nathan was the only father he had ever known and Kevin blossomed in his presence. Why….why did she insist on pushing Nathan away so hard if she was so damned mad at him for leaving them. “Sure.”

Nathan put his empty glass down on the counter and went to Kevin’s room. He walked up the stairs and saw photos of them still hanging up on the walls, posed family photos that made it look like they were a family. Photos she could send to her parents, hang on the walls, look over Kevin when he asked where his Dad was. Photos that were no more than a picture of something that rarely was reality. Allison was reacting as he expected her to and he expected this visit to be short-lived, so he wanted to at least be the the Dad he honestly tried to be for Kevin while he could. He knocked lightly on the door as he arrived at his destination and peaked into the room. Kevin was in his pajamas, but at his desk, drawing. “Hey, Kev, can I come in?”

Kevin nodded and never took his eyes off the drawing. “Mom’s mad.”

“You bet she is. She's mad at me though, not you.” Nathan said and walked in and sat on Kevin’s bed. “She wants what’s best for you, you know that, right? She genuinely wants you to have the best life you can, but this world is already so hard for people who operate outside the normal that it scares her that it will be hard on you.”

“I know.”

Nathan reached out and tapped Kevin’s hand with his fingers. “Your Mom and I, we’re going to fight tonight. I’ve kept things from her that I did to protect you and she’s going to get angrier than she is now. It’s justified. It’s not your fault, it’s mine. So maybe you should put on your headphones and listen to music?”

Kevin reached out for his headphones that were sitting on the desk playing music, but he had taken them off to listen to his parents in the next room. He handed them to his Dad. “Fudgey.”

Nathan frowned. He put the headphone up to his ear and heard whale sounds. Taggart marketed Fudgey’s recordings as ‘soothing whale sounds’ and probably half the town was listening to the doomed sperm whale whistle and click as it talked to it’s caretaker. Occasionally Taggart answered back. He looked down as Kevin passed him a drawing and quirked an eyebrow. t was a familiar picture as of late. “How do you know what the Artifact looks like?”

“Fudgey.”

Nathan narrowed his eyes at him and then looked at the headphones in his hand. “Fudgey..sang about this?”

“Yes.”

“ _ The Artifact _ ?” Nathan clarified and looked at the drawing.

“Yes.”

Nathan looked at the picture and Kevin took it back to draw squiggles from the artifact to the edge of the paper, then pulled over another drawing of a whale and connected the two drawings. Squiggles going to where Fudgey would have received sonar pings. The Artifact  _ was  _ located underground, probably about the same level as Lake Archimedes. “I’m not sure what to make of this Kev, can you help me out?”

Kevin moved on to his pile of drawings. He pulled out the drawings that he made of Jack and gave them to him.

“You knew who he was when he came here?” Nathan said and put aside the Fudgey-Artifact connection for now. The Artifact blowing up the whale was way more rational than a Vinspresso overload. "You helped me out."

“Yes.”

“Thanks.” Nathan said and leaned over to kiss Kevin’s head as he doodled. Then he took the headphones and put them on his head to block out the all too familiar sound of Allison yelling at him and him biting back. He got up and squeezed Kevin’s shoulder and walked out of the room to see if the firing squad was ready.

* * *

Jack came home to an empty bunker. Well, as empty as it could get with a comatose robot on the couch and a very confused A.I. House trying to figure out why artificial sex made her less intelligent. Nathan never came back to Cafe Diem, but Allison did so she could pick up Kevin. Nathan texted him from the car, saying he’d be home late because he needed to talk with Allison about Kevin. He wisely did not want to come back into the restaurant to change the mood of the place with his very noticeable presence and mood. Jack understood, appreciated it, and went home alone. Now he kinda wishes he stayed for the after- after party because it was a very weird feeling being here without anyone. 

“Hey S.A.R.A.H.? Beer me.” Jack said as a way to feel out if she was even slightly capable of functioning anymore.

“ _ Yes, Sheriff Carter.” _

She sounded weird. Weirder than a girly Fargo robotic voice from the ceiling usually sounded. “Hey, did you record the game?”

“ _ I did. Dodgers and Rockies. Would you like to watch it? _ ”

“Yes.” Jack replied, feeling weird about how mundane this conversation was going. She wasn’t yelling at him about eating that prime rib, or already having a few beers or coming home without his hot husband who still needed to drop her panel open and run his fingers all over her sensitive connections. He leaned on the counter and looked over at Andy who was still frozen on the couch with his look of orgasmic bliss on his face. That had to be weird for her. To have a guy, looking like that, stiff and unmoving inside her for hours after they banged out the power? “How about some snacks too?”

“ _ Coming right up _ .”

Jack looked up at the ceiling as the beer dispensed and the popcorn bowl materialized. Ok, this had to be some kind of 'walk of shame', except she couldn’t walk and had probably never experienced shame. Oh...he was so out of his league on this! Nathan was definitely not in the place for a technical service call, and he was definitely not discussing this with Fargo. Maybe they could just hang out and not talk? Maybe just watch TV and have a ‘guy night’ and not talk about feelings or the weird porn she watched or the robot stud still sitting on the couch like a mummy? He grabbed the beer and popcorn and went to sit down and watch some baseball. Yup. Nothing weird about this.

“ _ Sheriff? _ ”

“Yes S.A.R.A.H?” Jack asked as he sat down next to Andy and waved his hand in front of his face to see if he could see. “That’s so creepy.”

“ _ Is A.N.D.Y., turned on? _ ”

“I’m _not_ checking that.” Jack said and moved away from the robot on the couch. “I’m not a Doctor and that is _definitely_ Doctor territory.”

“ _ I mean, as in operable not...sexually operable. _ ”

“You’re asking  _ me _ ?” Jack snorted and nudged A.N.D.Y. to see if he was lightweight enough  move from the couch but the guy was heavy like a real body. “Seems like he’s turned off. Nathan said he turned him off. Is that good enough? Shouldn’t you be able to scan him and figure that out?”

_“I can’t look at him right now._ ”

“OK.” Jack said. That was definitely about shame and not some gap in her surveillance cameras.

“ _ Can we talk? About what happened? _ ”

Jack wanted to say 'no'. He wanted to say the person she needed to talk to was Nathan because he was Dr. Roboto. Nathan deserved this for making the robot able to fuck. He wanted to tell her to write in her diary and save it for later. He couldn’t ignore the sound of her voice though and he leaned back on the couch, rolled his head back and looked up at the ceiling. “Yeah, girl, I’m here for you. Feeling a little confused?”

“ _ I feel like a whore House.” _


	126. We will make amends ere long

AN: I had to fill in some of this secret document from the previous chapter thanks to the cutaway from the computer, not even screenshots could help me get me all of it. 

  
[ Previously on Eureka:  ](https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/624357682550276096) https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/624357682550276096

* * *

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 126

**We will make amends ere long**

* * *

  
  


_ Kevin Blake (DOB 3/15/2007) hereto referred to as The Subject, with IQ falling in .001% of the current global population, is considered a prodigal savant and is thereby recommended for enrollment in Eureka’s Legacy Program pursuant protocols under the Civilian Bioscience and Secrecy Act of 1947. DOD-LSCL-38G59. _

_ Observations of the subject from August 2001 to January 2005, with non-verbal communication inhibiting his capacity to communicate, did not hinder his ability to interpret the data presented to him in any form. Savants often perform mental calculations and connections well beyond the range of average, or even genius, humans. It is with this knowledge that I feel the subject capable of interpreting readings from the Object uniquely referred to as The Artifact. Current projections strongly suggest subconscious information transmission from the Object, ergo the Subject and the Object are more likely to connect than standard sampling practices.  _

_ It is ordered that the subject be immediately be granted access to Section 5 for assistance in studying the Object and studying the Object’s interaction with the Subject. _

  
  


_ Nathan Stark, _

_ Director, Global Dynamics _

_ Subject statistical data category: Red _

Allison considered getting up and getting a drink herself, but she didn’t want to dull any senses right now. This file was an admission by Nathan that he had put her son in a program to be studied without her consent. She wasn’t surprised, Nathan acted often without asking permission, but this was her son. It was Kevin. He had to know she’d object. Yet he still did it.

“I wanted to tell you.” Nathan said as he leaned on the wall in the hallway and watched her facial reactions, the blue glow of the tablet lighting up her face. 

“Tell me  _ what _ ? That you only brought my son here to study him?” Allison asked and put down the tablet. “That you put his life at risk?”

“The only reason we study him is to make sure his life is not at risk.” Nathan replied and played with his hand. He was trying to remain calm, trying to keep things from escalating even though he knew there was nowhere else for them to go.

“You..used _ my son _ as a research paper from the beginning.” Allison said, disbelief evident in her voice because everything had been a lie. Except when she looked up at Nathan she saw that he truly believed this was the right course of action. Of course he did. Nathan Stark never questioned his beliefs or actions.

“I did what I could to keep someone else from using him.” Nathan said. “You brought him to every specialist in the country looking for a ‘cure’ for autism. One of them certainly could have seen his potential to help with a breakthrough they wanted to claim as their own.”

“You _were_ one of them.” She said and wanted to cry a little because she felt so betrayed.

“You approached me after a lecture on Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence.” Nathan said and remembered how stunned he was at her beauty and then was immediately blown away by her questions. They went to lunch. They talked about his work and she spoke to him from the perspective of a medical doctor. Things were so different then, he never felt so attracted to anyone in his life. However, eventually the interest in his work faded away when it didn’t serve her needs. He tried to not reflect on that, he tried to not feel like neither one of them had been honest with each other from the beginning. “You wanted to find a way to rewire his brain like he was a computer who simply had a bad operating system install.”

“Stop making me sound like the devil for wanting a better life for my son!” She yelled. “Stop calling me a bad mother because I just want him to be able to play with kids his own age, to talk to me about his day and be able to grow up somewhere that isn’t Eureka!”

“I never said that.” Nathan 

“I’m sure Jack and Abby just came up with that on their own.” She said coldly. “Clearly just observation and not information they obtained.”

“Ally, you’re not a bad mother. You’re incredibly protective and that makes it difficult to approach you on this topic. ” Nathan replied, calm and slow. 

“Really?” She asked. “Because I don’t recall you trying to ask if you could put  _ my son _ in an experimental program designed to use him as a computer to further your work on this Artifact. He’s not one of your damned robots. ”

“Yet you're demanding I put him on an experimental drug?” Nathan asked, finally letting his cool slip away. She was being irrational and that meant she was being blind to what was in front of her.. “This is what I’m talking about. We discuss Kevin and any common sense or intelligence goes right out the window as you try to whisk him away to safety, but then you come to me and demand I fix him. What the hell do you want me to do, Ally?”

“He’s my son!”

“He’s mine too!”

Allison looked away as he began pacing in front of her. This was a too familiar situation for them, a conversation that could never be civil. “What is the Artifact?”

“It’s…” Nathan bit the inside of his cheek. It was classified. It was Section 5. It was something he shouldn’t tell her but he already told fucking Faraday so why should it be a problem to tell his ex-wife? “It’s everything. It’s amazing. I believe it’s our connection to the Akashic Field and I believe Kevin has connected to it because of how he thinks on a whole different level than any of us. I have no idea what it actually is, but it has the capability to change everything we know about life, science and the universe.”

“Oh my God.”

“It was brought here to Eureka, with me.” Nathan said. “ _For me_ to study. I have a team working on it and in two weeks we have so much information that we’re having to reset how we think about physics. Beverly is conducting psychiatric evaluations on myself and my team, per Faraday’s orders. She overstepped a line when she told you Kevin was involved.”

“So now this is about her breach of security?” Ally asked. “Because she told me that my son, her patient, was involved in a project I knew nothing about? Because his father, who doesn’t have custody, signed him up to study something unknown and potentially dangerous?”

And there was the difference between her and Jack: Ally immediately jumped at how this affected her and Jack would have jumped into action to shut down the threat that Beverly presented. Two different people. “I enrolled him in the Legacy Program to protect him. If something should happen to us, I wanted him to be allowed to live in Eureka for the rest of his life. This is the one place he can live on his own and thrive. I evoked an old law on the books from when Eureka was created, because it’s creators wanted to provide a safe haven for individuals just like him. Brilliant kids who didn’t fit in but had so much to share with people who would listen. Kids that could be taken advantage of.”

“So, I’m supposed to thank you for signing over custody of my son to the government in the event of our deaths?” She looked at him and laughed. “You can’t do this and you _will_ undo it immediately.”

“Can’t and won’t.” He said and her jaw clenched and face looked like it had been chiseled out of stone. “He’s free to leave, but it gives him access to Eureka that doesn’t expire, doesn’t require producing anything, doesn’t require  _ us _ to be here. I can’t ‘fix’ him Ally, but I can try to fix it so he never has to worry about where he’s going to live when we’re gone.”

She had no idea that act existed and Nathan was hitting on a great fear of hers, the one that scared her the most: what if she wasn’t here to protect her baby anymore. “What about the Artifact? How can you tell me you’re keeping him safe when you’re taking him to Section 5?”

“Ally, he’s drawing pictures of the Artifact. He’s never seen it, but he knows what it looks like. He was able to see Walter Perkins as a space-time anomaly stuck between seconds. He listens to Fudgey and can interpret whale. He knew what Jack looked like the first time he met him but he never saw a picture. He _knew_ who he was without an introduction.”

“What?”

“Ally,  _ Kevin _ brought me back here. Back to Eureka.” Nathan said. “I don’t know how. If he was tied to the Akashic Field before, the Artifact could be an amplifier. He can see electronic interference so maybe she tapped into the Wifi or GD’s systems in order to search for location and photos. I don’t know and I may never know, I just see the evidence that he had a hand in bringing Jack here.”

“He solved the equation.” Ally said and Nathan looked confused. “When Jack first arrived in town and saved the day. Kevin completed Walter’s equation without having to think about it. When we were trying to figure out the Tachyon Accelerator and didn’t have a formula, Jack went and got Kevin to give us the answers.”

“He’s brilliant.” Nathan said. “But even Kevin needs more than five minutes to complete an equation that complex. He could have had it worked out with time or he could have gotten the answer from some other body of knowledge. Or he could have initiated a chain reaction at the right time to allow the dominoes to fall and caused the whole event. I don’t know.”

“Kevin talked to Jack, when he first met him.” Allison recalled. In hindsight, it was so weird that Kevin latched onto Jack. He had never done that with a stranger before. Jack hadn’t been the most cordial when he arrived in Eureka either. “Jack told me he  _ talked _ with him, tried to talk with him again when he came to the house, and I accused him of lying because Kevin hadn’t talked since you left.”

Nathan took a deep breath and stopped pacing. So that’s why she was so furious with him for leaving? He knew she couldn’t be that upset about him leaving her since he didn’t even live in the same house with her at that point. However, if he upset Kevin, it would explain this level of residual anger. “I’m sorry. I wish you would have told me.”

“You just  _ left _ .” She said and shook her head. “I knew it was for the best and I know you Nathan. I know how much Eureka means to you and I know if you accepted a transfer out of here then you asked for it and you wanted to leave. I knew we were over, I just refused to let go.”

“You could have told me that the reason he didn’t talk was _ because of me _ .” Nathan said, hurt that she wouldn't share this. She wasn’t trying to spare him, she was scared by how much he meant to Kevin and what their break up would do to her son. Even living in separate houses, he still saw Kevin regularly. Separated, however, on another side of the country, left him with videoconferencing and that was simply at the mercy of time zones and schedules. It didn’t happen enough. 

“”You made your choice.” She said and saw his reaction and regretted her tone. “You moved away because that was what worked best for you and you didn’t ask. So I wasn’t going to tell you. Now you move back and didn’t ask when you decided Kevin’s future for him.”

Nathan shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

Ally looked up at him and said, “Are you?”

Nathan went over to the couch, bent down and took her hands in his. “I’m scared for Kevin, but that doesn’t help him. I’m using what power I have to  _ protect _ him.”

“I know. He needs one of us to be strong and stop panicking every time something upsets him…” She took a deep breath. “And that’s not me. He’s my baby.”

“I need you to keep looking out for him.” Nathan said. “Especially where Beverly is concerned because she should  _ not _ have shared that information and this is not me being pissed about her tipping you off about what I was doing. This is me being a concerned parent that our son’s shrink is so unprofessional about his case confidentiality that she may be putting him in danger.”

“You know that minors don’t have legal rights to confidentiality from their parents. You know that was never a subject I broached with Beverly because of Kevin’s age, situation and therapy type. I am fully involved with all of his specialists. Kevin can’t consent to therapy, therefore I act as his representative.”

“OK.” Nathan said and squeezed her hands. “I’m not attacking you over this, so you need to leave the documentation discussion at work.”

“Sorry.” She said. It was easy to fall back on since she was so unsure of where she stood right now.

“I’m more concerned about how easy it is for Beverly to bring up _our_ past in a marriage counseling session with Jack. Or how she mentioned a project you have no clearance to even know about in an attempt to drive a wedge between us using Kevin.”

“Why would she do that?” Allison asked and narrowed her eyes at him. Nathan knew something.

“I don’t know.” Nathan replied. And that was a lie.

“Abby took shots at me today, my parenting, just to try and bring problems to the surface so we could talk about them.” Allison reminded him. “Yet Beverly is unprofessional for doing the same thing? For watching out for her patient because she had concerns he was involved in a project she obvious feels is dangerous? That she questions your intentions?”

Nathan smiled and shook his head. Oh….he was definitely going after Beverly sooner rather than later. He was actually glad he had spent so much time being a bureaucrat and took delight in making the system work against people, otherwise he would have left and confronted her in person. It would have been bad to get arrested tonight. “Ally, we are talking because of what she said. If we’re going to work together and live in the same town we can’t let our past history become a hindrance. Please reconsider taking Kevin from Eureka...and me.”

“I need to think about all this.”

“I’ll forward the file on the Civilian Bioscience and Secrecy Act of 1947 to your email.” Nathan stood up, it was time to go. “You should look over Kevin’s drawings with a more critical eye. I know you date each one when he’s done, you should find out how early he predicted the Tachyon Accelerator, the Artifact and my return to Eureka. Then, we’ll talk.”


	127. So, Good Night Unto You All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I love keeping a streak alive and posting everyday, I'm simply not going to be able to manage it this weekend. I will pick up with the story, as usual, come Monday but I'm going to have to take the weekend off. :)

_Dissolved_

Chapter 127 

**So, Good Night Unto You All**

* * *

It was the seventh inning before Jack really got a word in and that was only because Nathan came home and gave S.A.R.A.H. a reason to stop babbling about her once virgin, but now stretched, wires. 

“ _Dr. Stark is home._ ”

"Thank God!" Jack mumbled and looked over the couch as the door opened and Nathan came in. “Hey, the doctor is in the house! Just the man to ask about all your sensitive nodes, expanded ports and moral dilemmas. How was your night, handsome?”

“Well, I didn’t go over to Beverly’s and threaten her like I should have. So, I think I deserve a kiss.” Nathan said as he came into the bunker, the door shut and he felt like he genuinely was home. It was good to come home to Jack. 

Jack put his popcorn bowl on Andy’s lap and got up and went over to his obviously emotionally drained husband. He wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him. “Thanks for not giving Jo a reason to call me and say ‘I have your husband handcuffed in the back seat of my car.’ since I’m sure Beverly would have pressed charges in order to discredit you.”

Nathan relaxed as Jack hung on his neck, rubbing his body against him and swinging his hips around. “Unlike you I don’t want to put myself in the position to get tossed around by your Deputy and sat on.”

“Good, because I would be pissed if she got to handcuff you before me.” Jack grinned then smirked. "So does that mean _you want_ to be in the position to get tossed around and sat on _by me_?"

“I need to unwind first." Nathan said and walked to the kitchen with Jack still wrapped around his neck so he could put his satchel down. Jack walked backwards, but kept rubbing up against him and he put an arm around his waist to stop him from walking away too fast. He was always so playful. "So, how was the rest of _your_ night?”

“Well, I stayed for the party. Abby and Zoe went home. I came home to Andy and S.A.R.A.H.. Andy’s been enthralled by baseball because he's in a computer coma. S.A.R.A.H.’s been telling me about losing her virginity, complete with all the details about her wire sheathing getting stretched from the warmth of the currents running through her harnesses. Then she slut shamed me.”

_“I’m sorry, Sheriff Carter, I thought that your promiscuous extra marriage affairs were simply fact and not a sensitive topic since you talked about it so flippantly._ ”

Nathan smirked at Jack as he dangled from his neck. He put his bag down and wrapped his arm around his waist. “I’m slightly concerned about the description of her wiring overheating.”

“It was _way_ more graphic when she told it.” Jack said and closed his eyes. “ _Way_ more.”

“More concerned about the wiring _actually_ overheating.” Nathan clarified and watched Jack's eyes open back up, then he winked and kissed him.

Jack kissed him back and ran his hand over his face, stroking his beard a few times with his fingers before playing with his lip. “Everything go Ok with Allison?”

“As well as can be expected.” Nathan said. “I’m glad to be home.”

“Want to watch some baseball?” Jack offered and looked over at Andy. “You might need to move Andy, he’s glued in place. Can’t get enough of America’s pastime. I think he might want to join our baseball team.”

Nathan looked over at his robot and frowned. “I probably shouldn’t have put him there and there are rules against robots in our league.”

“Well, it was a little insensitive considering S.A.R.A.H. had to sit here in awkward silence with him while she adjusted to ‘the feeling of fullness’ in her expanded wiring.” Jack said and was amused that Nathan seemed to nod in understanding of _that_. He could be so bad with people yet so understanding of a robot. “But maybe if you turn him back on they can talk it out? I’m not helping because, as she mentioned, I am a harlot.”

“ _Oh Sheriff, I don’t know if I can._ ”

Nathan looked up at the ceiling and frowned. “So, what’s this about Jack being promiscuous?”

“ _I merely asked for advice on how to categorize my experience as casual sex since he seemed able to compartmentalize it. ”_

“Weird because you sound awfully judgey about it.” Jack said. “I slept with a handful of people I worked with over the years and now I’m going to get branded with the Scarlet Letter.”

“S.A.R.A.H., I think you and Andy need to discuss this yourselves.” Nathan said. “Jack, despite being extremely adventurous sexually, isn’t going to be able to understand things on the level that you experienced them.”

Jack slapped Nathan’s face gently with the hand that had been petting him. “You’re _so_ funny. I guess I won’t be feeling ‘full, expanded and hot and flushed with raging currents’ by you tonight.”

“ _Ok, I understand. Do you want me to turn him on?_ ”

“NO!” Jack screamed.

Nathan winced as Jack screamed in his face. “The _robot._ Turn _the robot on_ , Jack. Not me.”

“Have you not been paying attention, that’s _exactly_ what got us in this mess!”

Nathan let go of him and pulled out his tablet and saw it was still open to his directive to put Kevin in the Legacy program and Section 5, so he handed it to Jack to read. It was easiest to just read everyone in on this since it was clearly going to come up again soon. “That’s what Ally and I fought about.”

Jack scanned the document and with each sentence his eyebrows raised a little higher. “Oh, you are _so_ bad about doing what you want and then asking forgiveness later.”

Nathan shrugged. “It was necessary. She would have never allowed it and I would have never given her the proper clearance for it.”

“Not really…. _the word_ I would have gone with?” Jack said hesitantly. “Maybe…’not appropriate’ is a better substitution for that statement?”

Nathan took the tablet back, cleared out of the program and opened up his control and diagnostic panel for Andy. He wirelessly started the reboot process and then got into his email to send Allison the information about the Civilian Bioscience and Secrecy Act. “You’re taking her side?”

“Considering my history of blowing the hell up every time you do the same thing to me?” Jack asked. “Yeah, I can see where she’s coming from because _you’ve done the exact same thing to me_.”

“You and I can discuss it. I can’t discuss things with her.”

“We discuss it _after_ you apologize profusely or tell me that you knew it would piss me off but you did it anyway. You never open up discussion until _after_ you get caught.” Jack said and tried to digest the jargon he just read. Director Stark really had that authoritative, legislative air about his emails. He liked authoritative Nathan, even if he just couldn't understand him sometimes. “What the hell is the Legacy program anyway?”

“In 1947, Albert Einstein convinced President Harry Truman to found a town that would be a scientific haven where the brightest minds could do research: Eureka. The town was founded in 1950. However in order to protect the scientists that were going to be given access to this government facility, Einstein and Dr. Trevor Grant pushed for a law that would lock in the founding families and keep them protected within this town as long as it existed. That allowed him to populate the town with people who were pretty skeptical about it; even back then at the height of national pride after WW2, people were a little cautious. The act was motivated by the prospect of giving asylum to scientists fleeing oppressive regimes that might need to stay hidden for personal safety as well as the secrecy of scientific advancement, but it covered a lot of bases as most brilliant minds had been put to use during the war somehow and they saw humanity's dark side.”

“So a witness protection program for smart people?”

“Yes.” Nathan said and rattled off names. “Einsteins and Oppenheimers are all grandfathered into Eureka. That means their families live here without having to be held to the same production standards that other individuals that work at GD must achieve or be let go. No experiments, no reviews. All benefits. They do, of course, end up working here as the housing and education may be free but nothing else is.”  
  


 _“Fargos are as well.”_ S.A.R.A.H. said proudly. “ _Douglas is a Legacy._ ”

“Oh, that explains a lot.” Jack said.

“Pierre Fargo was a pioneer of cryogenics.” Nathan explained. “He disappeared under suspicious circumstances.”

“Must have been a button.”

“So his family was put in the program to keep an eye on them.” Nathan continued and knew Jack would ‘ah-ha’ to that.

“Ah! You mean they were held hostage so if he turned up somewhere with the information you’d have leverage.” Jack shook his head. Was nothing pure and innocent and helpful, ever?

“Not me, it was way before my time, but I’m sure that was the idea.” Nathan replied and looked over as Andy made a moaning sound. So much for rebooting him and clearing out his cache hangups. “It was during the McCarthy era so there was a lot of fear regarding spies and secrets going to the Commies. Fargo never turned up though.”

“Super.” Jack said and drummed his fingers on the countertop while Nathan sent emails. “So _why_ would you think this was good for Kevin?”

“There is also a clause in the Act that allows for individuals who possess such genius that they fall in the top percentage of the world for IQ to be extended an offer to live in the greatest scientific community in the world. Most don’t know about it because they are busy applying themselves and utilizing their intelligence for personal gain, but for someone who is an autistic savant...it offers protection.”

“As someone whose government job _it was_ to provide protection, I think the government is the last person you would want in charge of someone like Kevin.” Jack said point blank. He didn’t want to argue about this tonight, but clearly Nathan had a lot to talk out still. He looked so tired. Things obviously didn’t go well with Allison and he was trying to put the case to rest somehow. 

“And as someone who benefited from that protection, I always knew it wasn’t the government protecting me but _the man_ assigned to me.” Nathan said and looked at Jack, softly with a smile. “Which is why I am not relying on the government, but the people of Eureka to do right by him. People who understand his genius, people who will not dismiss him.”

“The people of this town who have shown themselves to be taking advantage of everything?” Jack asked skeptically. “Beverly Barlow? Jason Anderson? Walter Perkins? Dylan Hartwell? Warren King? Pete Puhlman? Neil Baxter? I've only been here two weeks, Nathan, and two days before that.”

“We’re cleaning up the place, Sheriff.” Nathan said with a smile. “I’m banking on people like Kim and Henry. Jo. Taggart. Vincent. Fargo. _You_.”

Jack was about to say something but Andy moaned again. “Let’s leave this discussion for tomorrow and figure out if we can leave Andy here alone on the couch for tonight or if I need to haul him to the scrap yard.”

“I can bring him back to my lab if he’s going to be an issue.” Nathan said. 

“No, it’s time for bed.” Jack said and went over to Andy as the popcorn bowl fell off his lap and hit the floor. “Time to put everything to bed. I want my weekend with my husband that was promised to me _by my husband_ who likes to do things without asking permission. Well, this weekend you're just taking it off and not asking anyone's permission.”

"Is that about your clothes or work?"

"It better be both." Jack said and picked up the bowl and put it on the table. "So fix the robot or turn him off, so we can go upstairs. The weekend starts now and it's all about you and me." 


	128. Science Camp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's weekend turned into a full week away from the laptop without a way to write! Sorry for the delay!!

Dissolved

Chapter 128

Science Camp

* * *

  
  


“This is _way_ better than bed and you're an absolute genius, Nathan Stark.”

Nathan smirked as Jack swam up to him, mostly submerged in the warmer than usual, moonlit waters of Lake Archimedes. Heating up the lake to destroy the ice hurricane created by Whitticus’s weather machine had its personal perks in addition to saving the town and their own lives. “I have wanted to get you away from everything and take you camping at some point. Seems like a good time to do it since we have no water in our shower and a robot Romeo and Juliet trying to figure out life in our house right now.”

Jack wrapped his arms around his neck. “So you just happen to have an experimental tent in your trunk in case your husband’s new cabin happens to be destroyed by the weather machine that heated up the lake?”

“The VIP GD vehicles are all equipped with the tents in case of emergency. We don’t want our VIPs having to rough it in the event of an experiment going awry and wrecking their car.”

“ _ You  _ wrecked your car.” Jack said and smiled at him. “If you weren’t right down the road from our house would you have just camped on Old Post Road?”

“No.” Nathan replied flatly. "You would have Sheriffed me out."

“So, what instance is there where you are too far out in the woods that Taggart can’t sniff you out or you don’t have a cell signal or a tracking device or…”

“The hot Sheriff showing up to the crime scene to mock you for wrecking your car?” Nathan finished his sentence for him and smirked.

“That too.” Jack ran his hand through Nathan’s wet hair. “But I’m curious what dead zone you have out in the woods where some visitor is going to drive to and be lost.”

“Oh, so I’m talking to  _ Marshall _ Carter now.”

“Technically both jobs overlap around here.” Jack winked. "You've just alluded to some place in Eureka that will be the scene of some future investigation and I'm trying to figure out if it's Taggart's back yard."

Nathan tilted his head back and looked at the stars. “Jack, military higher ups who visit Eureka never accept that they have restricted access to  _ anything _ . I wish there wasn’t a precedent that had been set that caused us to have to equip the cars with emergency tents, but then it wouldn't be Eureka.”

Jack traced the lines of his cheekbones with his finger. Nathan seemed so relaxed now, talking with such a light tone and smile that it was certainly evident that this was also what he needed tonight: a naked swim in the lukewarm waters of a moonlit lake. “I never thought you were a big fan of camping.”

“I’m not.” Nathan righted his head in order to look at Jack. “ _ You are _ and I want to experience it with you. Which is partially why we have a tent instead of blanket and bug repellent. I’d like some comforts.”

“Thought so.”

  
Nathan shrugged. There was no shame in admitting he appreciated not roughing it completely. He got a long, loving kiss for that. “The tent is actually a fallout shelter as well, the material is a filter that will keep out everything hazardous down to….”

Jack kissed him again. “I’m not turned on by the fact you have a tent that can survive the pollen apocalypse. I’m excited you want to spoil me by swimming naked in a lake late at night and sleeping in a tent on the beach.”

“I love that you think that getting naked and sleeping outside is being spoiled.”

“Don’t say it that way, you make me sound like Taggart.”

“I love being naked and sleeping with you, even if it’s outside, Jack Carter.”

Jack laughed and shoved himself away from Nathan to swim a little. “As long as I get swallowed by _you_ and not your sperm whale.”

“Also another reason I brought you here.” Nathan replied and swam out after him. “I never get tired of your Fudgey references.”

“Good, because I’m still pissed about it and afraid to fuck you in the water in case your sperm turns into sea monkeys or whales or whatever in this lake warmed by some nuclear reactor in your crazy science factory.”

“That’s not quite how it works, but I think it’s probably a safe decision.”

Jack floated on his back and looked up at the stars. “It’s a really beautiful night. Super clear.”

“A massively powerful, weaponized, weather event will do that.” Nathan said and swam beside him after him.

“I don’t miss the city when I can look up and actually see the sky at night. I do miss being blissfully ignorant of all the horrible things that happen in rural Oregon on a daily basis.” Jack said. “ The stars are beautiful though, makes you remember there is something more than the rush of the world and everything wrong in it.”

“Does it?” Nathan asked and looked up at the sky. “Makes me wonder what other discoveries are out there that will prove our ways of thinking wrong. Worlds that don’t operate on our natural laws, just waiting to rewrite what we consider to be the way the universe works.”

“Do you want to go to space?” Jack asked. “Is that going to be something I’ll have to be prepared for? Waving to you as you launch into space in your recently wrecked BMW that Henry makes into a spaceship?”

“No.” Nathan replied quickly enough to get a look of surprise from Jack. “There is enough here on Earth that I would like to learn about and someone who is showing me how to see the world in a completely new light. I don’t need to go to space to find out I don’t want to leave you behind.”

Jack smiled at him and said, “You mean: leave  _ my behind _ ?”

Nathan splashed him and smiled. 

“I’m glad.” Jack said as he wiped water from his eyes. “I don’t want to go back to only talking to you on the phone.”

“I’m glad you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, yeah. You were right. Definitely is better living with the man you married than being on the other side of the country from him.” Jack said and splashed him back. “Definitely.”

“Good. How about we get in our tent and we get even closer?” Nathan asked. “The tent has technology in it so we can look up at the stars from inside and have the feel of being under the night sky while still being in a sound proof, protected shell.”

“And a bed.”

“And a bed with your naked husband in it.”

“Is that part of the VIP package?  _ Your _ package?”

“Only for my VIP.” Nathan said and swam over to kiss him. 

“Awwww.” Jack said and then got splashed in the face before he got his kiss and Nathan disappeared under the water. He barely managed to wipe water out of his eyes before being pulled underwater by his playful husband. He was pulled up against his sleek, muscular body and kissed as they floated under the surface of the water. The world above ceasing to exist for a moment as they held onto each other and kissed. Jack thought he heard a weird noise, but around here ‘weird’ could be anything and he didn’t know what whales sounded like underwater well enough to ask Nathan once they broke the surface if there were more Fudgeys out there in the abyss.


	129. Agitating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rolling into a new episode: Purple Haze. Going to hit all these episodes out of order.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 129

**Agitating**

* * *

Jack pinned his husband to the bed and began kissing his neck and chest- lips, hands and body sliding over wet skin as he did so. Nathan simply melted into the bed, no struggle against him in an effort to take control, just a man enjoying the assault of affectionate kisses without a need to do more than revel in the feeling. Jack knew the signs of a rough week, but this was the glaring indicator that Nathan needed to relax. Nathan rarely was capable of a complete surrender to him to just enjoy feeling good, he had to be exhausted and truly needy to just lay there and not do anything.

And by god, he was going to make him feel good.

Then his phone rang, and Jack felt the god-like body under him tense. He kept kissing and said, “Don’t answer it.”

Nathan moaned as his phone rang again. “I have to.”

Jack kept his arm pinned for at least two more rings then let go and collapsed on his chest. “I hate your job.”

Nathan reached for his phone as Jack’s phone started ringing. “And I hate yours.”

“One. Damned. Weekend.” Jack said. “They lived without our help for _how long_ and now in two weeks they’re incapable of handling anything on their own?”

Nathan looked at his phone. “It’s Allison.”

Jack looked at his. “Fargo?”

Together they answered and in unison said, “Hello?”

_ “Nathan, Kevin...won’t go to sleep. He keeps drawing that thing….the Artifact. I’m sure you think it’s just another thing for you to study, but I need you to do something about it now.” He's furiously scribbling, he's agitated." _

_ “Sheriff! I can’t get to sleep! Seth keeps blaring his music for his damned plants! I’m sure you would be able to hear it if you weren’t in the comfort of a hermetically sealed bunker!” I'm furious and Warren is agitating!" _

Nathan groaned. “Ally, there is nothing I can do to help him because I need the study to determine how to help him. Have you tried talking to him?”

Jack put his head on Nathan’s shoulder and mumbled. “Fargo, there is nothing I can do to stop his study on serenading plants since, you know, GD encourages people to recreate Little Shop of Horrors. Who the hell is Warren and why is he in your washer? Have you tried talking to him? Seth?”

“ _What do you think_?” Allison said coldly. " _He's trying to express himself through these drawings or else I wouldn't have called you!_ "

“ _What do you think!?!_ ” Fargo screamed. " _He's trying to express his complete and utter regard for authority and society and me and that's why I called you!_ " 

Nathan rolled his eyes. “I’ll be over.”

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there." Jack turned off his own phone as Fargo started playing ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ loud enough to wake the dead. Or maybe Seth was playing it. Who knew? Who cared? Who the hell was Warren? Warren King? Did he care? No, not really. “So much for that awesome fucking weekend naked on the beach and in some super special tent.”

Nathan tossed his phone at the tent wall. “Yup.”

“Duty calls.” Jack said and sat up and looked around for his clothes. 

“Send Lupo.” Nathan said and reached out to run his hands over Jack’s chest. “Stay naked and in bed. I’ll be back soon.”

“She’s probably naked and in bed with Taggart and will shoot Fargo and Seth sooner than I will. They might do it together. Naked.” Jack sighed. “I want her to have her date night. You have to go over to Allison’s anyway. We can meet back here.”

“I thought Fargo was at movie night on Fridays.” Nathan ran his hand over Jack’s thigh and knew the mood was already ruined.

“It’s kinda late, movie is over.” Jack said and ran his hand over Nathan’s as it caressed his leg. “We have all night left, for us though. No work tomorrow. We can sleep in.”

“Sure.” Nathan said skeptically and sat up and Jack remained on his legs, he hugged him. “Why did I want to come back to Eureka again?”

“Because you’re brilliant and amazing and I was an idiot who was trying to run away from you because you were too good to be true.” Jack said and ran his fingers through Nathan’s still wet hair. “And this night is too good to be ruined so just come back here horny and we’ll pick up right where we left off.”

“Sure….because that is how things go.”

Jack rubbed his shoulders and felt the tension return. “I gotta go.”

“Me too.” Nathan said and Jack slipped off his lap and started to get dressed. “Maybe we should have gone into the depths of the forest where nobody could contact us and we could just enjoy our tent?”

“Maybe I should have drove.” Jack sighed.

“So you could drive us there with your now functional four wheel drive?”. Nathan asked even though he knew Jack was referring to them heading in separate directions now.

“At this point, yes. I want to go in the black hole of no technology with you. Space is sounding pretty good too.” Jack replied and stepped into his boxers. “Anything to not have to drive to Fargo’s house at midnight to listen to him bitch about what conductor Seth is using to orchestrate his plant growth.”

“ _ Composers _ , Jack.” Nathan said as he watched Jack get dressed under the light of the moon. He definitely liked the features on this tent. His husband looked incredible in the moonlight. They were both still a little wet which made getting dressed even more awful.

“Whatever.” Jack mumbled. “ Composer. Conductor. Compost.  _ Cockblock _ .”

Nathan stood and went over to where he placed his clothes since he wasn’t going to just throw them on the ground, like Jack, even if they were camping. “Ally’s upset about Kevin’s drawings. I’ll come back after I get him to sleep. I’m not going to get into it with her again tonight.”

Jack laughed. “Sure, because _ that’s _ how things go.”

Nathan put on his boxers, threw on his shirt and stepped into his pants and started to zip them up when Jack came over to help him button up his shirt. He waited for him to slowly and carefully put his shirt on, running his knuckles against his chest as he did so. “Don’t wait up for me. Let me wake you up.”

“Well, that’s going to help me distinguish dreams from reality real easy.” Jack said. 

“Sleep naked.” Nathan said and he smiled as Jack fumbled with his buttons. “I promise I’ll announce myself before I do anything so you don’t tackle me for breaking and entering.”

Jack cleared his throat. “We’re talking about the tent or…”

Nathan tilted his jaw up with his hand and kissed him. “I’ll let you dream about it and you tell me what you want when I get back.”

“OK.” Jack said, the thrill of having Nathan under him and complacent now long gone and the dream of being awakened by Nathan’s aggressive, frustrated, sexually charged side now way way more enticing. 

“Think dirty thoughts and I’ll make them a reality.”

“Already thinking them.”

“Good.”

“But reality is we need to go get my Jeep and then go separate ways so this is kinda cruel?”

“Is it?” Nathan asked. 

“You’re  _ such _ a tease!” Jack said and slapped his chest with both hands and then squeezed his pectorals like they were boobs. “Enough stalling. Let’s be responsible and get back to here ASAP. I'll pretend I'm asleep so you can wake me up.”

“So, I should  _ drive _ ?” Nathan asked with a grin.

The question was not that Nathan was driving but that Nathan was going to drive fast. “I’ll be too occupied thinking about what you’re planning to do to me to pay attention to your speed.”

“Good.”


	130. Hazy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fargo has a beta fish named Warren in this episode and OF COURSE I latched on to that insignificant fact and the line "Warren, tonight we sleep like kings." 
> 
> Now some innocent little beta fish might be the new Fudgey. Made by Fargo. To replace the Fudgey he killed. Made by Fargo, so a powerful Beta Fish made in the image of his two GD idols: Nathan Stark and Warren King who will not be defeated by Vinspressos. 
> 
> Look who just found my nonsense for this episode!

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 130

**Hazy**

* * *

Jack drove up to Fargo’s place and rolled down his window. He could hear the music Seth was blasting and some weird buzzing sound that could have been a plane, or perhaps, some farm equipment. He kept driving through the field, not caring much about Fargo’s lawn or crops or whatever the hell he needed acreage for. He watched lights dip down out of the sky and just assumed it was a UFO dive bombing Fargo while ‘Ride of the Valkyries' played on Seth’s plant stereo system loud enough to bring neighbors over from another galaxy to complain.

Because those were now the kinds of assumptions he made when being called to work in the middle of the night and having to pry himself away from his really amazing husband who just wanted to let him play with his unbelievable body under the stars after a swim in a possibly radioactive lake where his sperm whale son used to live. 

Oh God, did he just want to shoot Seth, Fargo and the UFO and just go back to bed!

He kept driving through the grass and the music somehow got louder which was a testament to either the capabilities of Seth’s equipment or his own ear drums to tolerate something that should have made them explode. He shook his head as he drove towards the lights in the sky, knowing Fargo had to be the one who would piss off aliens so much they would come to try to smack some sense into him. Aliens would know they shouldn’t abduct him or he’d press some button on their ship and make it implode.

Maybe he should go with Nathan to space so they could have a quiet weekend together? Was that possible? 

He flipped on his lights and siren, because one more obnoxious light and sound wasn’t going to ruin anyone’s night that hadn’t already been ruined. He parked as he saw Fargo flailing around in the tall grass, obviously trying to wave him down to the scene of the crime. Jack watched him jump up and down in his headlights and flipped them on to high beams to try and blind him. Fargo stopped jumping and covered his eyes. How nice of him that he trusted his investigative skills to lead him to this spot instead of calling him and saying ‘Hey! I’m over at Seth’s Farm. I’ll run in front of your car when you get here like a stupid woodland creature enthralled by headlights and certain death.’ He got out of his Jeep as Fargo ran up to him and a drone crop duster buzzed overhead. He took a huge step back from Fargo as he approached. “Woah! You smell like shit!”

“It’s fertilizer! Seth sprayed me with that death machine!” Fargo screamed.

Jack rolled his eyes. “I’ve been in town long enough to not consider a remote control drone field sprayer to be a _death machine_." 

“God knows what’s in that stuff!” Fargo cringed.

“Shit?” Jack offered.

“Listen, the point is, I can’t take this anymore!” Fargo said and waved at the wooden fence between his property and Seth Osborne’s farm. “He plays it day and night.”

“Did you try asking him nicely to turn it down?” Jack asked as they walked over to the fence. Fargo definitely was edgy, someone was not a happy camper when sleep deprived.

“I can’t talk to that man, he’s completely irrational.” 

“No idea what that’s like.” Jack mumbled as Fargo continued his rant.

“People do not appreciate my role around here. I’m the grease on the cogs that turn the gears in this machine that is Eureka!” Fargo said proudly, and loudly.

“People need to appreciate _my_ role around here.” Jack said. “Especially since I’m the one greasing up your boss so he purrs like a kitten instead of bites like a lion. Do you understand what you interrupted tonight so I could come out here and tell your neighbor to keep his music down?”

“No, but I have an excellent imagination and I’m sure with a little details and possibly a hologram I could…”

“I  _ knew _ you were the one who made the naked hologram of Nathan!” Jack said and he could see Fargo’s eyes get wide.

“We need to go stop Seth's machine!” Fargo said and jumped the fence. “I called you here to serve justice! Keep the Peace! Keep the music down!”

Jack looked down at his clothes, he wasn’t in uniform. He was in his nice clothes because he didn’t want to change to come out here. He regretted that now, because he was sure this nice shirt would get snagged somehow and Nathan gave him this shirt. He climbed up the fence anyhow, as stripping to be shirtless seemed like more a Stark thing than a Carter thing, and followed Fargo into Seth’s garden as the music began to make his skin vibrate. 

“I’m sure you did a great job in the last town you worked in…” Fargo said as they wove through plants to get to the sound system.

“America, Fargo. I was a U.S. Marshall. America was my last town.” Jack said as he felt his pant legs getting wet from the evening dew and probably toxic waters Seth sprayed his plants with.

“My point is that scientific exploration in no small part depends on me getting the proper amounts of sleep.” Fargo yelled.

“And your boss getting the proper amount of sex.” Jack shouted back, annoyed that Fargo really thought he was the glue that held everything together instead of the old gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe.

“You think too highly of yourself, Sheriff.” Fargo said. “Dr. Stark clearly didn’t need your 'help' getting his Nobel, nor Dr. Blake’s 'help' to run Global Dynamics.”

“Clearly you need sleep to restore your life preservation skills because you’re really pushing it right now and forgetting what a cranky bitch your boss is when he doesn’t get what he wants. You know what he wants at midnight on a Friday?  _ Me _ . So let’s get this over with so we can all get back to bed, OK?” Jack replied. 

“Fine.” Fargo said and pushed forward through the rain forest of experimental plants. 

“Besides I’m sure you want to get back to Warren.” Jack said, using his context clues from Fargo’s 9-1-1 call to determine Fargo had a special someone who was also not getting any sleep.

“He’s my Beta!”

“OK.” Jack said. That could be a lot of things and he didn’t want to know more. Beta could be a proofreader for his Buffy fanfiction, which S.A.R.A.H. tried to read him as a bedtime story when he first came to Eureka. She had informed him that she was his 'beta reader' so any comments were a reflection on her too. Or it could be that Beta wolf pack thing that Taggart was wooing Jo with: something about Alphas, Betas and Omegas that sounded kinky but he didn’t care to read the FAQ on. Either way, he didn’t want details on Fargo’s personal life right now. Good for him if Warren met his needs. He still wondered if it was Warren King because the kid did seem like his lackey when he first met him. He put aside those thoughts as they came upon the speaker and sound system and Seth and he could see the light at the end of the tunnel, a light back to his happy little tent and horny huge husband. 

“Oh I didn’t hear you come up, Sheriff.” Seth said then looked at Fargo with a sneer. “Smelled you coming Fargo. Wearing some of my fertilizer? About the only way you could know what grant renewal smells like.”

“I can’t imagine why, Seth.” Jack said and waved at the speakers. “Turning up the volume doesn’t make the plants any less deaf, but it makes people deaf. Turn it off.”

Seth smiled and turned off the music. “But my night-blooming necrosomium violacea just can’t get enough.”

“Well I’ve had enough!” Fargo yelled.

“That makes two of us.” Seth countered.

“Biopharmacology is just a fancy word for gardening!” Fargo spat.

“You’re pushing  _ my buttons _ , Fargo.I don’t need a secretary for that, or what was your job title again? Administrative Assistant to the Director of Research thanks to the Legacy program and ingrained nepotism in Eureka’s source code?”

“I’m the grease that keeps the cogs of this machine..”

Jack reached over and put his hand over Fargo’s mouth. Not just to shut him up and stop him from repeating himself, but because he had yet to reduce his vocal volume to reflect the fact that the very loud music was now off.

“Scram! Real science is being done here!” Seth said. "You're trespassing! Maybe I should call the Sheriff in for that....oh look. What a good secretary you are, you already did!"

“Guys.” Jack said as he grabbed Fargo by the collar and stopped him from launching himself at Seth. “I have a biology and anatomy experiment of my own to get back to and he just happens to be your boss. If our Friday night is ruined anymore than it already is, you can kiss your plants and buttons goodbye because he will transfer you to some horrible horrible place I have not yet discovered in GD and leave you to work there together. Do you understand what I am saying?”

“Yeah, not to bother you again.” Fargo said.

“Exactly.” Jack said and pointed in the direction he and Fargo came. “So you go home and take a shower. A decontamination shower, preferable. And Seth? No serenading your plants after 6pm? Ok?”

“But..”Seth protested.

“No buts! I come back here I am bringing a stun gun and a weed wacker. I come back a third time and I’m bringing my Deputy and your Boss and you’re going to both get whacked in every meaning of the word. So, stop being assholes and be good neighbors. Better yet, go to bed.”

“Sorry, Sheriff.” Fargo said and then whispered. “Please, don’t tell Dr. Stark.”

“Too late.” Jack said and looked over at Seth. “We good?”

“Yes, Sheriff.” Seth said. 

“If  _ he  _ is good.” Fargo said with a glare.

“Great.” Jack said and dragged Fargo with him back to the fence. He shoved him at it and watched him climb over, then followed him and snagged his sleeve on a nail on the way over and ripped it. “ _ Great. _ ”

“Can I get a ride back to the house, Sheriff?” Fargo asked.

“No. You walk. Think about that next time you call me at midnight and make me get off my naked husband to come out here and settle an argument about music being too loud when you are the reason Spencer’s neighbors make the same noise disturbance call every Friday night. Walk. Think about what you’ve done and maybe a little bit about what I could have done to your boss if I wasn’t forced to come out here. Goodnight.”

Fargo watched him leave and started walking back to the house thinking about just that.


	131. Drawing Fire

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 131

**Drawing Fire**

* * *

  
  


“Thanks for coming over.” Allison said as she opened the door for her ex-husband and saw the forced smile on his face and knew she had interrupted something. He wasn’t happy. She, in turn, tensed because it wasn’t like this was how she planned her night either.

“Anything for Kevin.” Nathan said as he walked in and set his eyes on the hallway leading to Kevin’s bedroom. He felt a hand on his arm and looked down at Ally who knew him well enough to see he was none too happy about this. “Ally, I mean it. I will always be here for him and you, however..”

“Here it comes.” She said.

“This.” Nathan shook his head. “This is why I didn’t tell you about the Artifact.  _ This  _ is why I don’t tell you about anything I am working on with Kevin. You worry and feed into his energy. You have to step back and see how you charge the situation with your own emotions.”

“Nathan.” She said coldly. “I’m not causing this.”

“Ally, any child reads their parents better than we give them credit for. Kevin’s view is enhanced by his ability. He sees things in a higher definition, he  _ feels  _ things.” Nathan said and sighed and looked at the ceiling. “I need you to stop overreacting to everything he does or doesn't do.”

“Fine.” She said and let go of his arm and waved to the door. “Leave then. I have it handled.”

“Yeah, right.” He said and started walking towards Kevin’s room.

“If I can’t go in there ‘emotionally charged’, then you shouldn’t either.” She pointed out and Nathan stopped in his tracks. “I interrupted something tonight.”

“You did.” Nathan turned and looked at her. “My husband was pinning me to the bed when you called.”

“Oh.” She said, taken aback. That was..something she had certainly never done. Jumped him, yes. Taken a role on top, kinda. Nathan had always been in charge and that was never in question. “Wow. I guess you’ve come a long way since we were married. You never liked…not being in charge.”

“I thought I’d try it and see why you liked laying there and not doing anything so much.” Nathan replied.

She smiled at him. Nathan throwing a personal insult like that meant he was _very_ frustrated with her. “I  _ really _ interrupted something.”

“Yes, Ally. I had a date planned and just wanted a weekend alone with the man I married. I surprised him with a camping trip and he was very grateful. I want to get back to that, he is waiting for me.”

“ _ You _ went camping?” Ally said and closed the front door and went over to circle around him and smile. “Are you really Nathan Stark or an impostor? That’s awfully spontaneous and outdoorsy for you.”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “I’m capable of doing impulsive things.”

“Yeah, like marrying a U.S. Marshall who protected you during a trial.” She said. "I noticed."

“What can I say, he brings out that side of me.”

“A side that I never saw.” She reminded him. "A side that didn't exist until him."

“What are you implying?”

“Considering I was once the one wooed by your romantic side that was no more than an illusion, I’m wondering why you suddenly want to participate in Jack’s hobbies. Baseball? Camping? Kinda reminds me of a man who, briefly, used to stay home with his family and let the phone go to voicemail instead of running out the door every chance he had to go to work.”

“I answered  _ your _ phone call tonight when I should have let it go to voicemail, apparently.” Nathan said dryly. “Are we done here? I attacked you for your helicopter parenting and now you’re attacking me for trying to be a good husband, I think we’re even.”

“Well, we’re a lot less emotionally charged.” She said and looked at his face and saw the telltale signs of exhaustion: There were dark circles under his eyes and there were fine lines of crows feet showing. He was clearly working on will-power and coffee again and his frustrations of being pulled out of bed were well warranted. She reacted to his lecture poorly, but that was just how they were. 

“Ok, I’ll give you that.” He said and took a deep breath. She wasn’t wrong, he was ready to barrel into Kevin’s room and do exactly what he accused her of: bringing all his energy with him. 

“So, what can you tell me about the Artifact?” She asked. "If it's related to Kevin, I should know."

“Not much, it’s Section 5 and highly classified.”

“Have you tested it?”

“Not yet.” Nathan replied. “The current plan for making contact with the Artifact follows a progression of steps over the next few months all carefully designed and approved by me.”

“Maybe we should revise that timetable considering we know virtually nothing about it except that it’s connected to Kevin.” Allison offered.

“That...isn’t going to happen.” Nathan said. “What we’re dealing with is not some usb device that can be connected and unconnected, it’s a powerful, mysterious energy that very possibly could be God.”

“Which is why a physical sample might help move things along.”

“You’re right. Let me call General Mansfield right now and tell him I’m going in with a pipette and a haz-mat suit to sample his radioactive orb because my son happened to draw pictures of it. Not only will I get fired, possibly fried, but then Kevin gets pulled in to be studied by the wrong people asking ‘why’ he knows about it and how he knows more than anyone else. Ally, as scared as you are...we have to approach this carefully. It’s a huge risk, on many fronts.”

“It’s a calculated risk if we reassess the timetable and make it a priority like you have with _every o_ ther project you have completed in order to please the D.O.D. and budget committee. Two weeks and you've done two years worth of work to save Global Dynamics.” She said. “Kevin is a priority, isn’t he?”

“Ally, I’m not revising the safety protocols because Kevin is doodling things he could possibly see in _my mind_. We have no evidence the artifact is communicating with him, it’s only my theory that I have shared with a select few.” Nathan said and watched her cross her arms. 

“You’ve shared that theory which puts him in danger.”

“Allison.” Nathan said and smiled at her. “Do you really think I would put him at risk like that? Do you think I don’t have an entire paper of my own on my hard drive ready to present to anyone questioning Kevin’s part in this project? A paper playing all this off as a study of his ability as a telepath and not a conduit to the Akashic Field?”

“Sounds like you’re labeling him a security risk.”

“Always an angle with you to make me the bad guy.” Nathan shook his head. “I’m going to talk to Kevin. Maybe you can have an explanation ready for me as to how he’ll communicate those classified secrets to anyone by the time I’m done. He doesn't talk.”

“His drawings.”

“Pencil and paper are never going to be able to contain the sheer volume of expression and information that Kevin wants to communicate.” Nathan said as he moved to advance towards Kevin’s bedroom. “He’s operating on a level we can not even fathom. They’d have to dedicate a super computer to interpreting the data and Kevin would have to program it because he is not speaking the same language as us in his mind. Language, is too slow. Too simple. We’re cavemen banging rocks together when we talk. He struggles to talk because we are so stupid in comparison to him that it takes effort to come down to our level and wait on us to compute what he has already zoomed past.”

“Then how does Jack do so well with him?”

“ _ Watch it _ , Ally.” Nathan snapped.

“Nathan, I don’t mean it as an insult.”

“You do.”

“Answer me as a scientist not as an emotionally charged husband.” She glared back. “Why, can a man of average intelligence surpass geniuses when he talks to him? Why...did Kevin bring him here when he could have talked to me? What is Jack's role in all this?”

“Jack treats him like a normal kid. He’s also way smarter than you give him credit for.” Nathan sighed. She was so jealous of Jack that she couldn’t see straight. “He’s humanity. He’s compassion and empathy and looks out when the rest of us are looking in. He grounds me and I’m sure he has the same effect on Kevin. Normal, isn’t a bad thing, Ally. It’s actually a really interesting perspective that we have dismissed and scoffed at so long that we miss out on some of the most incredible things this world already has. Which is why I really do want to get back to my camping trip with my normal, hopefully naked, husband in the tent on the shore of the lake. I want to watch the sun rise with someone and see it for the beauty that it is instead of thinking about the samples of it we have in Section 5, harnessing it's power for a weapon, or the deadline Earth has for when the sun burns out.”

“OK.” Ally said and started walking towards Kevin’s room. “Let’s get this over with so you can get back to him.”

“I want to be here. I want to help.” Nathan said as they walked to Kevin’s room. “But you need to help yourself first. You need to stop reacting to the potential problems and look at the simple fact that your son is still right in front of you and you’re fueling his….”

Allison pushed open the door to Kevin's room to show what he had been drawing. Nathan fell silent as he looked at the drawing on the wall, the entire wall, of someone holding a body in his arms while another man held his hands up to a wall and held the Artifact in his hand. The man sitting on the ground looked a lot like Nathan and in his arms was a body wearing a star on his shirt, which meant it was Jack. Who the overweight man was with them, she wasn't sure. “So, what does a normal mother do when she walks in to see that?”

Nathan felt like the world stopped as he looked at a mural depicting what appeared to be the death of Jack Carter and slightly stocky man he assumed to be God looming over them in the Artifact chamber. 


	132. Phoenix Rising

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 132

**Phoenix Rising**

* * *

  
  


When Jack woke up, it wasn’t because Nathan was running his hands over his body or kissing places that would send shivers throughout his entire being. No, he woke up because his phone rang and then his eyes opened and focused on Jim  _ Fuckin _ g Taggart naked and staring at him. “SON OF A BITCH!”

He scrambled backwards on the bed, grabbing a sheet to cover his naked body as he went. He put his back up against the tent wall and tried to figure out what kind of nightmare he woke up in. Taggart was  _ sniffing? _ the tent and walking around inspecting it as the sun rose over Lake Archimedes behind him. Jack’s phone kept ringing and he very much wondered if he died and went to hell last night. 

Where the hell was Nathan?

And why was Abby calling him at 6:30 in the morning? 

Why was Taggart peeing on the tent?

WHY was Eureka like this!?!

“Go for Carter.” He answered his phone and remembered that the tent was one-way-see-through and that Taggart was not able to see him even if he was able to watch him pee his signature onto the tent. What the fuck did Jo do to him last night? 

_ “She’s gone, Jack! She’s run away!” _

“ _ What _ ?” Jack asked and rubbed his eyes. He mentally retraced his steps from last night to make sure he didn’t accidentally wander into Dante’s woods from the Inferno and fall asleep in Hell’s vestibule. Surely Eureka and Hell both had the same welcome sign, ‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.’ Yeah. Abondon any hope of a weekend off with his husband who probably got some science 9-1-1 call and had to go back to GD because the weather death machine didn’t really work. Or movie night was ruined again by paranoia beams and this time it was Baxter's monkey movies and now Taggart was completely feral because of it.

_“It’s just like before!_ ”

"What?" Jack asked again.

" _ZOE! Your daughter!_ "

Jack had a hard time believing that Zoe would run away. Things were good last night. She genuinely was having a good time with her friends and they were the right kind of friends. Then again Abby seemed happy with him last night and now it was evident she wasn't. He fell back into work mode quickly. “All right, did she take anything with her?”

_ “No. She just left the house by herself. I woke up and she wasn’t here.” _

“Well, she does that all the time.” Jack said. “Well, at least for the last two weeks. I mean, she’s not gone Abby, she’s 15 and that’s not actually her house. I’ll bust her ass for using her learner’s permit without a licensed driver over 18 to accompany her but..”

“ _My car is still here! You think she just walked to town? How do I bring up the security footage?”_

“Uh….” Jack strained to think. He needed coffee. “I mean, she does have legs.”

_ “I don’t have time for your smart-ass comments, Jack. Our daughter is missing and you always do this! You always make it seem like I’m overreacting and the one driving her away!” _

“Easy!” Jack said and watched Taggart walk away from the tent towards the lake and stretch and open his arms up to the rising sun like he either wanted to bask in it’s glow or be eaten alive by it. The beautiful sunset was now replaced by the view of Taggart’s naked ass and Jack looked for the remote control for this tent so he could turn reality TV off. Monkeys in Tanzania really had nothing on the people of Eureka. Why did nobody study these lunatics? Well...Beverly probably did..but that was a problem for later. “Did you try calling her?”

_“What do you think, Jack? You’re the one who doesn’t talk to people, not me. I tried calling her and it went to voicemail so I called her father who specializes in finding people and he’s acting like I’m the idiot. You do still find people, don't you? Or do you just find your way into Nathan's pants?_ ”

“Wow, you really need to calm down.” Jack said and gave up on the remote and just grabbed his clothes and started to get dressed. Just another day in Eureka. “She wouldn't run away. Not like that. Not anymore.”

_ “You can’t possibly know that.” _

“I know my daughter and I understand her better than she realizes. So give me a minute to get dressed and…”

_ “So you’re saying I’m the only parent she runs away from?” _

“I’m not saying that. Why are you so combative this morning? Holy shit Abby, talk about someone who was happy with me last night and now did an about-face.” Jack wiggled into his boxers one handed. Abby was really in rare form this morning. Just the sign of a great day ahead for him. “I’m saying that things have changed.”

“ _You haven’t changed, Jack. You’ve always put your work before us. That’s why she started running away to begin with! To get your attention!”_

Jack had enough. It was too early for this guilt trip. “Which is great for you because it’s my job to locate missing people and Sheriff Eureka. So I’ll call you when I find her.”

_ “Fine.” _

“Ok.” Jack looked at the phone as she hung up. What the fuck was that about? He looked for a text or anything from Nathan and he saw nothing, so he sent a quick ‘Where are you?’ text to him and got dressed. He realized he was going to have to head home and get back in to uniform because work was _literally_ pissing on his door. He winced as Taggart began making animal calls on the banks of the lake, maybe it was whale-talk? Whatever it was, he was occupied and it meant he could slip out of the tent unnoticed and avoid awkward conversation. Nathan could deal with his employee when he packed up his magic tent and discovered the urine stains.  He got up, grabbed his keys and wallet and left the tent just as Taggart decided to start walking into the lake to go for a swim. Jack ran to his Jeep, got in and turned it on and took off just as Taggart popped back out of the waters like a prairie dog out of his hole. By then he was already heading out of the woods and his first stop was going to be home.

Home, because that was also Zoe’s home. She wouldn’t walk anywhere, and most of her friends weren’t driving, but one was. One who was currently having an emotional crisis over her boyfriend. One who was just a phone call or text away and was in danger of a nuclear meltdown because she was a _whore House_. One who just got awarded Nathan’s totaled car as a way to get around and see things and Henry really was amazing at multitasking and probably had it mostly done. 

Confident he knew where his daughter was, he drove home because at least one of her parents needed to be rational about the situation. Abby would never understand that they played therapist to the robot house, she and Allison had that in common. He wished he could tell Nathan that but he was also M.I.A. and he wasn't going to freak out about him going to work because he understood that some things just took precedence. Some things would always ruin your careful plans and desires to make something of the naked inviting body in your bed. He understood that and, as frustrating as it was, it definitely wasn't his fault.

However, a text would have been nice considering he tended to worry about him driving too fast and crashing into people running a billion miles an hour and getting lost in the woods without his emergency tent....but Nathan would be the first to point out that the probability of that happening twice in one week was almost impossible.

He, however, wasn't a Nobel prize winning Mathematician so Jack began to worry that something bad happened. He picked up his phone and called Allison, just to make sure Nathan wasn't still at her place.

" _Allison Blake._ "

"Wow, you sound tired." Jack said as he double checked the time on his radio.

" _That happens when you wake someone up._ "

"Ah....you're usually up by now." Jack said. Allison shared Nathan's idea that being on time to work was being early. Which meant she got up earlier to get Kevin to school for a therapy session before school began, before her day began. Even being Saturday, you didn't just sleep in with that kind of schedule.

" _Oh, so now you're an expert on my habits?_ "

"Occupational hazard?" Jack offered. Wow, he was just striking out with women today. He really hoped strike three wasn't with Zoe or S.A.R.A.H., getting struck out with them was going to make a really bad day. "I notice people's schedules, just a cop thing."

" _Well, I overslept. Maybe because your husband exhausts me_."

"Speaking of Nathan, any idea where he is?"

_"Not here, if that's what you're asking. Exhaust me mentally, Carter. Physically...ha! I wouldn't have just laid there if I had anything to gain from sex with him. I think it's been pretty clear he enjoys your body way more than mine if this is an implication that maybe he spent the night."_

"OK?" Jack shook his head. OK, this was weird. "I wasn't implying anything..."

_"Oh, that's right. Nathan's loyal, you're the one who flirts with strangers while your divorce is pending and he has to move you into his house to keep you from indulging in people you work with."_

"Everything...OK?" Jack asked. That was a personal shot and he wondered exactly why his sex life was public knowledge. S.A.R.A.H. knew. Jo knew. Maybe Abby talked to her about it? Why was this about him? 

" _Everything is fantastic._ "

"So, about Nathan."

_"I'm not his keeper, you are. Call him back with your siren's call, clearly he likes the sound of the police one more than my fake orgasms. I'm going back to bed._ "

For the second time that morning he got hung up on and looked at his phone and mumbled, "What the fuck?"


	133. Unfiltered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I skipped the weekend again!

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 133

**Unfiltered**

* * *

  
  


Jack arrived at the bunker and was not at all surprised to see Nathan’s BMW sitting there, missing a hood and driver’s side fender. He got out of his Jeep and looked at the car and shook his head. Two weeks in Eureka and he could accurately predict the moves Nathan’s super smart A.I.s would make. Now if he could just have the foresight to see how his own moves might create the situations where the A.I.s were compelled to act this way, he’d be in bed, naked and waiting on his husband.

His husband who had yet to text back and was beginning to worry him. 

No, one thing at a time. He opened up the door to the bunker and walked down the stairwell where Andy was sitting on the steps looking up at him with a sad puppy look. A puppy who knew grand theft auto was wrong but still did it anyway. “Andy.”

“Boss.” Andy said and stood up. “Are you mad at me?”

Jack reached the landing in front of the entrance door and just could not be mad at that face. Thank god it was a face other than Andy’s ‘O-face’. “Well, typically I am not happy when my Deputy steals a unroadworthy totaled car from the local mechanic.”

“Sarah said it was hers and then I ran the plates when I got there and saw that it was still in Dr. Stark’s name.” Andy hung his head. “And then I still took it, rationalizing that a Smart House could not legally own a car and thus it would probably be in Dr. Stark's name, however, I knew it was wrong.”

This was not usually how his interrogations went. “Yeah, well. Probably not the best behavior for my Deputy to be stealing cars for their girlfriends, right?”

“I also used that car to pick up your daughter, which was child endangerment and possibly kidnapping, from the director’s house , after I disabled the security, and drive her home so she could talk with S.A.R.A.H., in house.” Andy then gave him a weak smile. “I did make some repairs to ensure it was safe enough to drive and transport Zoe.”

“Well, sit here and write yourself a ticket for all the laws you broke and then we’ll talk about it once I handle whatever is waiting for me on the other side of this door.” Jack replied and Andy looked like he was going to cry.

“I don’t have a ticket book.”

“Mine is in the car. If you promise not to steal it, you can wait for me up there.”

“Sure thing, boss.” Andy jumped up and was instantly happy again.

Jack watched Andy trudge up the stairs, talking to himself and reading himself his rights and listing all the laws he broke and their number designation in the Oregon Revised Statute. He shook his head and said, “S.A.R.A.H., door.”

The door opened and he walked into his house and looked at his daughter who was sitting on the couch startled by his sudden appearance. In unison, they both asked, “Are you mad at me?”

“Wait.” Zoe said. “Why would _I_ be mad at _you?_ ”

“Uh, I woke up on the wrong side of _everything_ this morning.” Jack replied and S.A.R.A.H. closed the door behind him. “Just figured you were another woman I pissed off somehow. Your Mom called, by the way, to report you as a missing person in a very aggressive manner.”

“What do you mean, woke up?” She asked and looked at her watch in a panic. “Oh my God! We need to get some windows in here! I didn’t realize what time it was!”

Jack walked over and leaned on the couch. “Which doesn’t erase the fact that you snuck out of the house, had a glitchy robot pick you up in a stolen, super broken car.”

_“It’s my fault, Sheriff. I am a bad house.”_ S.A.R.A.H. said. _“ You should place me under house arrest or have Andy do it._ ”

Jack looked up at the ceiling and winced. “Why did that sound….”

“Kinky?” Zoe finished his sentence and he nodded. “Yeah, you and Nathan really need to stop talking about your handcuff kink in front of her.”

“We don’t have a handcuff kink.” Jack said. “And I’m not having this conversation with you, or my house.”

“S.A.R.A.H. is going through all the stages of grief over her lost innocence.” Zoe said. "We've reached acceptance and she's very accepting of what she wants now."

“Well, I guess that's a good thing since her guilt complex could very well kill us.” Jack really wished Nathan was here to deal with this robot scandal.

“She's super focused on you and Nathan as the example of love and relationships.” Zoe shrugged. "Wants to emulate you, and in computer speak an emulator is a program that allow a host to act like a guest. It's actually really amazing."

“Well, of course this is my fault. Just how this day is going.” Jack said and hung his head as he gripped the back of the couch. “Did you guys sort some stuff out on your sleep over?”

“Yes, but now it’s looking like Andy might arrest himself for his crimes. ” Zoe said as her Dad’s phone rang. “Are you mad? I didn’t mean to ruin your weekend getaway with Nathan.”

“Eureka ruined it.” Jack said, looked at caller ID, and answered his phone with a sigh. “Sheriff Carter, what’s up Seth?”

_“I want that son of a bitch arrested!_ ”

“Who?” Jack asked and his phone beeped to tell him there was someone else calling him. He looked at his phone and call waiting told him it was Abby. Great. She had no filter and was also super impatient. 

_ “Fargo!” _

“I take it something happened?” Jack asked, leading the conversation to the information he needed.

“ _That sneaky little misanthrope cut my speaker wires and knocked me out with a shovel_.”

“Mild mannered Fargo _knocked you out_?” Jack asked, incredulously and Zoe looked at him with a similar reaction to that statement.

“He ain’t mild mannered, he’s a freaking lunatic! And I want him locked up!”

“Okay, Seth, I’ll go talk to him.” Jack said and rubbed his temple with his finger. Oh, this all had the makings of some kind of device. Probably whatever device lured Nathan away from bed and back to GD and had him too busy to call him and check in.

“ _He’s not at home! When you find him, I want you to arrest him!_ ”

“If I deem that necessary, then I will arrest him.” Jack said and rolled his eyes. “In the meantime why don’t you go home since I’m assuming you’re at Fargo’s house. I’ll handle it.”

“ _You better or I will._ ”

“Seth, is that a threat?” Jack asked.

After a long pause the answer came, “ _No._ ”

“Good.” Jack said and ran his hand through his hair. “You know what? I’ll do better than just talk to Fargo, I’ll send my Deputy over to take a statement and inspect damages with you.”

“ _Good. At least Jo knows what kind of damage Fargo is capable of!_ ”

Jack listened to him hang up and smiled. “Oh, you’re not getting Deputy Lupo. Deputy Andy is going to do some community service for his crimes.”

“Oh no, Sheriff." S.A.R.A.H. pleaded. " It was my fault. All of this was my fault. Please don’t punish Andy for it.”

“S.A.R.A.H.” Zoe sighed. “When you use your sultry girly Fargo voice it makes it obvious you are thinking dirty thoughts.”

“'Sultry girly Fargo voice'. Things I never wanted to hear said in a sentence together, by my daughter no less, and most certainly never wanted to actually hear.” Jack groaned as his phone rang again. Abby was freaking out. “OK, I have to go to work and I’m putting Andy to work. Your Mom really needs to know you’re safe so please tell her some really good story about why you came home and how you got here because the truth is going to make her freak out more.”

“You mean, she'll take me back to L.A.” Zoe said and wanted to kick herself for not setting an alarm to get back to the director's house before she woke up. Then her Dad grabbed her hand and she realized what he was asking her to do. “Are you suggesting that I lie to Mom?”

“Under normal circumstances that would be very very bad, but these are not normal circumstances and you’ve lied for less before.” Jack said.

“Thanks Dad, really great parenting there.” 

“You know what I mean.” Jack said and answered his phone just to stop it from ringing and said. “Yes! Abby! I found her! She’s at home! Safe!”

_ “Why didn’t you call me!?” _

“Abby, call Zoe, she’ll explain.” Jack said and Zoe frowned in disapproval as he threw her under the bus. “I gotta go. Lots of crime. Need to Sheriff.”

“ _There’s a surprise. You have to work_.”

“I just worked, for you, to find our daughter. She’s found. I have other emergencies.”

_“Fine, Jack. Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to be a father._ ”

Jack heard yet another click as he got hung up on _again_. Zoe was about to chastise him for throwing this situation in her lap but he held up a finger. “Bonus points if you can find out why she’s so pissed at me, but I gotta go. There is something weird going on. People are getting mad at each other too easily. Mad at me, mainly.”

“Well, if we’re talking about Mom then that’s because she’s super jealous of you and Nathan.”

Jack shrugged. “What about Allison?”

“Same.”

“But Fargo and Seth are having a neighborly feud that involves agriculture warfare.” Jack informed her. "They're mad at each other, not at me."

“Fargo does things that make people mad. Could be a way of acting out his anger towards you for stealing his boss's love.” Zoe said and her Dad’s phone started ringing again. She wondered why he was asking her for this info. “Where’s Nathan?”

“Probably at work?” Jack looked at his phone. “Where is your phone? Your Mom is calling me probably to yell at me more.”

“It’s on the charger.” Zoe said and jumped up off the couch. “I swear I just lost track of time. We need windows so I can see the sun!”

“Just talk to your Mom. I gotta fix this science problem before it ruins your play tonight.” Jack said and answered his phone. “Hey Abby! She’s getting her phone now, it needed to charge.”

“ _Why is there always an excuse, Jack?_ ”

Jack watched Zoe run up the stairs. In fifteen years of fights and life with Abby, she had never been this volatile. “Abby, is everything OK? You’re really a little...edgy this morning?”

_“I woke up in your husband’s house and discovered my daughter was missing. Exactly how am I being a bitch?_ ”

“I...um..” Jack wasn’t even sure what to label this new problem. The ‘People are Angry device’? Or maybe it was something they already had, like the PX-319, the angry monkey paranoia beam! “I just was asking if you’re feeling OK?”

_ “I’m wet. I slept in a bed last night that had lube soaking through the sheets in the morning. Your bed. Your bed that you used with your ridiculously beautiful husband who clearly give you reason to use enough lubricant to grease a battleship when you are alone together. You. The man who took years to understand what foreplay was meant for and would just shove right in without understanding a tight vagina is not a happy and aroused one.” _

Jack looked at the ceiling. Maybe this wasn’t paranoia? Maybe it was just releasing some residual anger? What the fuck did GD make that caused this? Why did they make such terrible things? “We worked through that in therapy almost 10 years ago. I was educated on the aspects of female excitement and your expectations in the company of you and a very scary old woman who definitely did not arouse me while talking about that. So, uh, any other things you’ve been holding a grudge about?”

_“Plenty. However our daughter is calling and I want to know why she keeps running from me to go to you_.”

“OK.” Jack said as he got hung up on, again. He went upstairs while calling Nathan in order to get into his uniform to go to work on his day off. He didn’t dare call Jo, if this was some kind of device that made all women mad at him he definitely didn’t need her kicking his ass as soon as she saw him. Nathan’s phone when to voicemail. “Hey. Getting a little worried about you but I know you’re working so I’ll swing by GD with some Vinspressos. I have to track down Fargo, if he’s with you, let me know. Even better if he has a shovel with him he used to smack Seth with last night. Not so great if he hit you with it, and that's why you’re not answering your phone. Also...is there some kind of device that got turned on that makes people mad at each other super easy? God, I hope you’re not pissed at me when I find you. Love you, see you soon. I hope.”

And he hung up as he reached his bedroom and he looked over as Zoe popped her head out of her room with a look of confusion on her face. She held her pone to her chest so her Mom couldn’t hear her talk.

“What the hell is up with Mom?” Zoe asked. “When did I sign up to be robot therapist and listen to my own mother unload on me about all her feelings about being a bad parent?”

“It’s got to be a device.” Jack explained and looked down at his phone as it rang again. This time it was the landline from the office being rerouted to his phone. Which meant Jo wasn’t answering her calls. Great, she was missing too. Or naked in the woods with Taggart and without her phone. “Do me a favor and don’t leave the house today, OK? Just in case this is contagious.”

“Got it.” She said and put the phone back to her ear and disappeared into her room. “Yeah, Mom, I just wanted to get some sleep in my own bed because I want to be well rested for my performance tonight. That’s all.”

“Just going to be one of those days.” Jack said as he answered his phone. “Sheriff Carter, how can I help you this morning?”


	134. Speak Your Mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Episode rewatch lead me to see that Jo was definitely hitting on Carter. Yeah, I ship everything.

_Dissolved_

Chapter 134

**Speak your Mind**

* * *

“Andy? I need you to be honest with me.” Jack said as Andy handed him his ticket book and frowned as he realized he had used every single ticket in it in order to list his crimes. Apparently it was Oregon law that 'One may not test their physical endurance while driving on a highway' and Andy had somehow done that in his brief time driving Nathan's car.

“Always, boss.” Andy said and clasped his hands over his lap and looked forward, ready to answer whatever question was coming.

“Are you an actual Deputy or did Nathan just tell me that so I’d take the weekend off?” Jack asked and tapped his ticket book on his hand.

“I’m an actual Deputy. Sworn in and everything.” 

“Great." Jack said and opened the passenger door. "I need you to go to Dr. Osborne’s farm and take a statement from him and photograph all the damages he says Fargo inflicted on him and his equipment. Got it?”

“Do you want me to walk or use Dr. Stark’s car?” Andy asked, broad grin on his face as he got out of the Jeep.

“I’d like you to drive.” Jack clarified and looked at the mess of a vehicle he was handing over to the robot. Well, technically they were both Nathan’s so it all qualified as some robot experiment, right? "Drive the BMW."

“I’ll drive!” Andy said. “Do you want me to bring Dr. Osborne in for questioning?”

“Not unless he gets violent, which may be a real possibility today.” Jack smacked Andy on the shoulder and winked. “I’m sure you can handle it. Thanks, buddy.”

“I’ll make you proud.”

Jack smiled and went to his own car. Nothing could make him more proud than the fact he was sending a robot to deal with Seth’s complaints and the guy might take a swing at him and break his hand on the robot's metal skeleton. Seth truly was a cranky and difficult guy to deal with and this was a great solution. Now, on to his next problem which was his other two missing persons: Jo and Nathan. He sent a text to Jo as he was climbing the stairs out of the bunker with no response and was not eager to call and interrupt something that would cause Taggart to be making animal noises in the background. He got in his Jeep just as Andy put the BMW in reverse and a god awful squeal came from a dragging brake or busted bearing. Well...nothing Andy couldn’t fix.

The drive down Cornelius Loop was short as he saw a new structure had materialized overnight and was looking very shiny and suspicious. Thankfully Henry was working on it and it wasn’t some new GD employee who would become his episode of the week villain. He rolled down his window and said, “Good morning Henry!”

“Oh, hey.” Henry said flatly.

Jack put the Jeep in park. Not the usual chipper Henry he typically encountered. He had a bad feeling about that. “So, nice giant shiny tower you have there. Are we going to be neighbors?”

“It’s a cell tower. If you have a problem with the clearest, most secure, cellular satellite Wi-Fi communications in the world you can take it up with the director of GD who chose the installation site.” Henry said coldly.

Jack nodded. “Any chance you have seen or talked to him today or last night?”

“No.” Henry said abruptly. “Nathan called Kim into GD for some emergency last night.”

“OK.” Jack said and tapped on his door. “So something to do with the Artifact then?”

“That  _ is _ her project.” Henry said harshly.

Jack frowned and pointed to the massive tower. The new thing that appeared overnight that was definitely a device. Might as well gather information on it now. “So, how does it work? The cell tower.”

“It…” Henry dropped his tools into his toolbox and glared at him. “It just does. Do I have to explain _ everything _ ?”

“No.” Jack shook his head. So, whatever was going on didn’t just effect women. Good to know. “Feeling, OK?”

“Fine!” Henry said. “Just tired.”

He sounded like he wasn’t just referring to being physically tired. “Ok, well I’ll let you get back to it.”

“Thank you.”

Jack couldn't help but ask, "Any chance that tower is the reason Nathan and Jo haven't called me back?"

"NO!" Henry snapped.

Jack waved at him and drove off. That was a side of Henry he hadn’t seen before and was a little worried about this trend he was seeing. If everyone was mad at him and being irrational, then he was going to have a hell of a time getting their help to solve the problem that was causing them to be irrationally angry. He drove into town, extra vigilant because he had no idea where to begin with tracking down this issue. 

It wasn’t like he could just tell Nathan that there was a device doing things because the ex-wives and Henry were all pissed at him.

Or he could.

But he was also worried Nathan might be mad at him for a myriad of very rational reasons and he wasn’t quite sure he was prepared for that yet. So it was off to the office to see if he could find his Deputy who he hoped was normal.  The question was, why was he not affected and why was Zoe not affected? Being married to a scientist he knew he couldn’t just use a small sample of the population to fuel his hypothesis. He needed more data. He needed to find out if it was just Allison, Abby and Henry that were pissed at him. Then he could start forming theories.

He parked his Jeep next to Jo’s Jeep and was happy she was here, at work. He was still worried she was ignoring his texts, but happy she was located. Well, maybe. It was entirely possible she just parked here and took off on foot, but Jo loved to drive and he believed that, even if she was thinking irrationally, she wouldn’t leave her car behind. He had to admit to himself he was stalling because walking into the office to find out could very well mean he was getting smashed face-first into the floor again if she was mad for some reason. 

And she had a lot to be mad at him about. 

He got out of the Jeep, took a deep breath and marched into his office and saw her at her desk, feet propped up on it while she read a magazine. “Hey, Jo!”

“Hey? What’s up?” Jo said, excited to see her boss.

“What’s up with you? I sent you texts and the office calls are being rerouted to my phone?” Jack asked and she snapped her bubble gum and shrugged.

“Yeah, just not in the mood.”

“For?”

“Whiners.” She said and reached out for her phone and said. “Ooh. Not you! I’ll text you back now.”

Jack was glad she wasn’t angry but not so happy she was...relaxed. Then his phone went off and she giggled and he knew something was very very wrong. “Oh, this is a string of emojis.”

“I never use those! They’re really cute!”

“Jo, have you noticed people are acting a little weird today?” Jack asked and watched her take her gum out and put it on her desk. 

“No?” She said innocently.

He noticed now that her hair was down. He doubted she ever let her hair down at work. Jo had a tough girl image she really valued, she wouldn’t just soften up after one date with Taggart. Time to find out what was going on with her. “You look nice. Do something a little different with your hair?”

“Oh yeah!” Jo dropped her magazine and sat up. “I didn’t feel like putting it up today.”

Jack nodded as she twirled her hair. Ok, weird just got weirder.

“No law against that, right?” Jo said and laughed.

“Right.” Jack smiled and turned to go to his desk, confident he wasn’t going to be flipped over and sat on. It was time to find Nathan and use Jo as the exclusive example of something being wrong in Eureka today. ”So, uh, I take it date night with Taggart went well?”

“Yes.” She said and jumped up and ran over to him and tugged on his sleeve. “It was so good! You know what we should do tonight?”

“You and me?” Jack asked. 

“Yeah!” Jo said. “We should go dancing!”

Jack felt like he was getting asked out on a date, which kinda made this feel extra weird. “As in...dance lessons? For my wedding?”

“For fun!” She said and snapped her fingers and wiggled her hips. “Thin blue line, my brother. We could tear it up!”

“You do remember dancing with me in this office and me stepping all over your feet, right?” Jack asked.

“You just need to loosen up!”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” Jack said as she slapped his ass. “But have you been drinking?”

“Ooooh!” Jo said with a gasp. “Drinking! That would totally help you loosen up! We should do that!”

“Jo,” Jack held up his hand and showed her his wedding ring. “You remember I’m married, right?”

“Like that’s stopped you from sampling the local flavor before.” Jo laughed and winked.

“I really want to know why everyone is so focused on making me feel bad for being in my 30’s and having sex with people while I was separated from my ex-wife. Or why everyone knows.”

“Because you locked up your daughter in that cell when you came to town and she spilled all your dirty laundry out just to give me ammunition against you? Payback is a bitch! And it's funny because you’re so focused on right and wrong but apparently made exceptions?” Jo offered and ran her hand over her own hip and smacked it. “And I am exceptional.”

“What about Taggart!?”

“He is quite exceptional too but had a call of the wild this morning and left me wanting in bed.” She said and rolled her eyes. 

“So did Nathan.” Jack said aloud before he could stop himself. Jo’s eyes lit up. “No! I meant that as an ‘ah ha! What a coincidence’ statement and not a ‘I see my husband’s absence as opening to have an affair with my Deputy this morning.”

“Awww…” Jo pouted.

Jack put his hands on his hips. “OK, look. Even you have to admit you’re acting weird. You can’t honestly tell me that you _ever_ thought about sleeping with me…”

“Oh, I most certainly did.” She said and looked him up and down. “You are one hot piece of ass, Jack Carter. I definitely would have been your ‘co-worker hook-up while I’m briefly separated from my troublesome spouse’ had you not been an absolute asshole when you were in town the first time. Or maybe that’s why I liked you. I don’t know. I’ll just say that the shoulder holster was fucking hot and I thought about that for a while. Still do. Looking forward to my next calendar for sure!”

“ _ What! _ ?” Jack said and she reached out for his chest and he had to grab her hand. “Oh God, what the hell is going on?”

“You know what would be _ so _ good right now?”

“Please, don’t.” Jack said and she jumped up and down and squealed. Squealed. Jo Lupo. Jo was hitting on him and bouncing around like a teenage girl at a boy band concert.

“One of those caramel cappuccinos, you know the one with whipped cream and those cinnamon sprinkles?”

Jack stared at her conflicted and confused.

“You want? I’ll go make a run!” Jo took her hand back and didn’t give him a chance to answer. “Great! I’ll be back in a jiff!”

Jack stood there frozen in place as Jo skipped out of the room and danced out of the office on her way to Cafe Diem to get them fancy coffee drinks instead of their usual hardcore caffinators. “Ok, something is definitely wrong.”


	135. Two-Way Communication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the reviews and sticking with me! I'll hopefully get to replies this weekend! (Yes, not missing updates again this weekend. YAY!)

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 135

**Two-Way Communication**

* * *

Jack left the office before Jo could return and decided to continue his search for Fargo. Since asking people questions was getting him nowhere, he called the house to enlist the help of the two people he knew to be sane and rational. “Hey, Zoe.”

_ “Dad! What the hell is going on? Mom was totally out of line and told me every psychological reason that I do what I do.” _

“Welcome to my world.” Jack sighed. 

_ “And Putnam called and said he was going to cancel the performance tonight because his reimagining of Midsummer Night’s Dream is more about ‘visually establishing his new take via shiny costumes and Michael Bay level pyrotechnics than it is a crafting of Shakespeare into a new and powerful alternative reality’.” _

“Sounds like he’s gotten a dose of whatever the hell everyone else got.” Jack said as he drove down Main Street and saw the dry cleaner lady come out on the sidewalk, throw his many many clothes on the ground and flip him off. “So, in light of that I’d really like you to stay home and help me figure this out. Be my command center and enlist S.A.R.A.H.’s help too.”

“ _ I take it you found Jo? _ ”

“Yeah, I did. I was expecting to get hit, not hit on.”

_ “Well, can’t say I didn’t see that coming. Everyone was placing bets on you when you first came to town since they didn’t know you were married to Nathan and I didn’t tell anyone. It was between her and Allison. _ ”

“So speaking of things that are supposed to be between two people.” Jack said as he drove past the Baker twins who were trying to shove each other off their bicycles. “Lately I’ve gotten some shit about seeing other people when I was separated from your Mom. I was wondering how Jo and S.A.R.A.H. knew so much, especially S.A.R.A.H. who determined I was the cheating whore she could look to for advice on compromising her integrity and body. I come to find out that you, young lady, were the one who gave Jo the ammunition against me when we stumbled into town.”

There was silence and a little cursing, then, “ _ You locked me in a jail cell and forgot about me. I don’t think it’s treason to give the enemy some information that got me freed after I was abandoned.” _

“Yeah, I did do that and I guess I deserved that however, I think you might have some residual anger about what I did while I was away from your Mom and I’d like to sit and talk about it before you get infected with ‘Pissed off at Jack’ science leak of the day and start yelling at me. Especially since you made a comment I have not forgotten about when we were talking about Dylan and you said ‘since when do you like smart guys’ and that means you figured out I have a type. I’ve apparently had a sit down talk coming and I think it’s best if we talk about it before S.A.R.A.H. brands me with the scarlet letter in the shower like I’m some slutty steer.”

“ _ Ok. _ ”

Jack tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. One word answers from his daughter were a sign that something was a problem. They always echoed back at him like a shout across the Grand Canyon. “Zoe, your Mom and I had a lot of problems and none of them ever were caused by you . I’m so sorry that you got caught in the fallout.”

_ “Well, we can talk about that later since you called to deputize us and not for a dial-in therapy session. _ ”

It was a way to change the subject, she learned that from him. “Yeah, I’m getting a dose of compelling truth from everyone I interact with, I guess I should focus on the problem forcing people to be honest. Any ideas? Truth Serum maybe?”

_ “I take it Henry and Nathan are also out of commission or else you wouldn’t be asking me. _ ”

“Henry was cranky. He’s also putting up a cell tower right down the road from the house, so that’s one for the ‘convenient timing of this device to appear’ pile. Um, Nathan is still M.I.A.”

_ “You’re handling that pretty well. _ ”

“I’m actually not. I kinda want to puke.” Jack admitted. 

_ “Is this us being honest or did you inhale truth serum?" _

“This is me being honest because it’s looking like we’re working together today and I need trust with my partner. I also need you to keep checking in with me and making sure I haven’t succumbed to the mystery illness.”

“ _ Cool. _ ” Zoe paused. “ _ So why are you worried? Think he got in another accident? _ ”

“No. I don’t know what Nathan I’m going to get: Honest and mean or horny Valley girl.”

_ “Gotcha. You always taught me that truth was the greatest weapon and cuts deeper than lies _ .”

“Yeah and this town is built on secrets.” Jack said as he crossed the bridge to GD. He could see the massive building up on the hill now and thankfully it was not on fire or launching missiles or whales. “Ok, time to get to work. Ask S.A.R.A.H. if she has access to Fargo’s phone. He made an app for Nathan so he could be alerted when I came in the building. Nathan, for some reason, let him install it.”

_ “It’s because he loves you. _ ”

“Well, lust makes one blind to malware as many many arrests for online child pornography distribution have come to prove.”

“ _ So you think Fargo gets a Nathan alert on his phone? I don’t know what I’m more impressed with, you for predicting Fargo’s move or for Fargo for coming up with a way to help himself keep his job. Nathan had to know.” _

“I’m sure he did. He probably figured it was worth the risk just to have Fargo where he needed him or not where he wanted him without having to tell the guy that. Plus...it’s a safety measure in case I lose my husband on a camping trip and need to find out if he was dosed with Truth Serum. He thinks ahead, which makes me worry about his time travel obsession sometimes.”

_ “Awww, so he leaves you breadcrumbs to allow you to find him, but doesn’t directly hand you that access? That’s so cute _ .”

“It’s a chess game. I told him about my chess success and he’s informed me that in chess circles they refer to me as ‘Chess Jesus’. He was very excited about marrying a secret internet celebrity and nobody knowing who I really am under the mask and cape.”

Zoe laughed. “ _ Oh, because you use your initials? J.C! That’s hilarious they all thought Jesus was beating them at chess all these years. These people take some incredible leaps sometimes.” _

“I’m a legend. Just didn’t know.”

_ “Dad, you married Nathan Stark, I don’t think you truly understand how jealous and confused this town is of you. That little bit of information will make you more than just a normal cop who seduced their Genius King. It would give you serious street cred and maybe make them accept you more.” It would make sense to them how he could fall for you because they still see him as a God on high who would not interact with mere morals, like they have come to see themselves. Mt. Olympus is quite accurate." _

Jack laughed. It was. He had to give in and quote 'Africa' because it applied. "As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serangetti...I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become. Apparently our song lyrics have become a reality, put that in the possible 'science snafu' column. Curing what's deep inside with honest and fearing what truth is."

" _You'd scare them if they knew how smart you were_. _Truth like that would shake a lot of their beliefs_."

“I know. I don’t really want that. If we’re being honest, I really like being underestimated. I like being the village idiot because they genuinely believe they don’t have to hide stuff from me because I’m too stupid to outsmart them.”

“ _ Despite evidence to the contrary. _ ” Zoe pointed out. “ _ So who are the idiots, really? Us or the scientists who ignore data that proves the test scores might not be all they’re built up to be. One thing they don’t challenge is I.Q. tests and you’re an outlier in the data, performing in an area you shouldn’t be.” _

“So your Mom unloaded on you about the I.Q. tests too?   
  


“ _ Yeah, she called Dr. Ewing this morning. You two are really going to make my high school years miserable.” _

“Sorry.” Jack said as he parked at GD next to Nathan’s car. “Found Nathan’s car in his parking spot.”

“ _ That’s some good detective work, Sheriff.” _

“Going for employee of the month already, Carter?” Jack asked and he smiled as his daughter laughed. Ok, maybe this day wasn’t going to be all bad. 

“ _ Give me a sec and I’ll clinch the title. I’ll ask S.A.R.A.H. to locate Fargo using his phone. Clearly if he installed malware on the director’s phone, it’s going to fall under a security issue that she can write off as being part of her protecting her family and not cyberterrorism _ .”

Jack kept smiling. He had an amazing kid and she was truly in the right place to help her find herself. Maybe while they were being honest tonight about his ‘infamous infidelity’ he should tell her about the bargain he made with Abby to give her a semester in Eureka before talking about custody and going back to L.A. He was already dreading that as much as he was finding out if Nathan had been infected with the truth serum.

“ _ Fargo is in the cryo-lab. He’s either sleeping there or left his phone there. _ ”

“Great work, Detective Carter.” Jack said and opened his car door. “Maybe you want an internship at the Sheriff’s Department instead of GD?”

_ “Let’s not ruin this ‘take your daughter to work day’ with threats, Dad.” _

“Well, I’ll save the threats for Fargo because he’s probably the reason this all happened.” Jack said as he turned and put his feet on the pavement but remained seated in his Jeep. “Why don’t you call Putnam and see if you can convince him to not cancel his show? I’ll get this figured out by tonight.”

_ “I’m not so worried about you getting it figured out as much as I am about people figuring out what to do with all the truth they’ve been served.” _

“Me too.” Jack said. “Hey, um, just in case, why don’t you find a way to tap into my police radio. Since Henry is working on the cell tower there is a chance we might lose phones. The two-way radios work on a different band.”

_ “Look at you applying your experience from many power outages, riots and earthquakes in L.A _ .” Zoe said and then added. “ _ And two weeks in Eureka. _ ”

“Let’s hope I won’t need it.” Jack said and got out of his Jeep and closed the door. “Text me the channel you pick. I’m going to go find Fargo.”


	136. Just a few more minutes

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 136

**Just a Few More Minutes**

* * *

“Good morning, Fargo.” Jack said as he tapped a button labelled ‘open’ on a machine that looked like it should have been an MRI machine but was located in the people freezing lab, so he simply accepted the risk of opening some kind of fresh frozen hell or letting out Fargo. Had to be better than dealing with frozen Neil Baxter, but it was Fargo so he'd probably regret thinking that.

“Go away, I’m trying to sleep.” Fargo mumbled and rolled over to hug his pillow.

“Yeah, I talked to Seth Osbourne.” Jack said as he leaned against the wall and watched Fargo emerge from the machine on a slab. “I heard you had a  _ busy _ night.”

“You should arrest that maniac! He’s a menace.” Fargo said and snuggled up to his pillow to cling to sleep.

“He says the same thing about you.” Jack informed him. Ah, Fargo looked so innocent, curled up in a fetal position and trying to not wake up.

“ _ Me _ ? I unplug a couple of speaker cables and he freaks out.” Fargo mumbled. “The next thing I know I wake up in a puddle of my own spittle.”

“Wait a second.” Jack said and cocked his head. “He knocked  _ you _ out?”

“Yeah!” Fargo said, opened his eyes and pointed at the door. “So why don’t you go bother him and let me get back to sleep?”

“I sent my Deputy to take care of that, you however, can come sleep in my cell.” Jack said. “You’re coming in for a statement.”

“Oh man, why me!?”Fargo asked and threw his pillow across the room.

“Well for starters you just confessed to trespassing and vandalism.” Jack informed him as he got out of ‘bed’.

“Everyone always blames me for everything. This is _ so _ not fair.” Fargo said as he took his glasses off to clean them off. He wondered why he went to bed wearing his glasses. 

“Well... life, generally, is not fair.” Jack said. “This was supposed to be my weekend off but someone released some science and now I’m back in uniform and back to work.” 

“That uniform smells like you’ve been working in it more than just this morning.” Fargo said as he stood up and got a whiff of _something_. It smelled industrial.

“Yeah. I only have so many uniforms and I wasn’t looking forward to doing laundry on my day off. Or coming to work, on my day off. So if it stinks, well it stinks.” Jack said and was hoping that smell was coming from his Jeep and not him. Just going to be one of those days.

“You smell like gear oil.” Fargo sniffed at him. “Robotic lubricant.”

“You would know, being the grease that keeps the gears of Eureka from screaming too loud.” Jack said and grabbed him and shoved him to the door. “Probably something off my robot Deputy’s body….and considering this uniform was hanging in the front closet where he stuck his finger in your A.I. house’s ports and made her orgasm, I just got a lovely image to associate with that smell I'm wearing.”

“Wait.” Fargo pushed his glasses up his nose and looked over his shoulder at the Sheriff. “Do you just say S.A.R.A.H…”

“Had sex with Deputy Andy in my front closet. Yes.” Jack said and Fargo lit up.

“Oh, that’s my girl!”

“Yeah, let’s talk about your _girly voice_ and some of the naughty things bouncing around her hard drive and out her speakers.” Jack said and shoved him out of the cryo-lab which seemed like it should be locked or at least supervised. No wonder a Fargo went missing in there.

Fargo stumbled out the door and down the hall as he tried to comprehend the incredible growth of his pet project in light of this new information meant. “She experienced pleasure?”

“Please, don’t  _ ever _ ask me that again.” Jack said and hit the button on the elevator. He needed coffee. Lots of it. Not the kind that JO obviously went to get, but the kind that Nathan used to stay awake for 72 straight hours. Oh he hoped he could sit down and have coffee when he found Nathan, but the way this day was going, he was going to be lucky if he wasn't served divorce papers instead of an espresso. When the elevator door opened, he shoved Fargo in it. 

“This is huge! An amazing breakthrough in artificial intelligence!” Fargo smiled. "Wow. S.A.R.A.H and Andy. It's like a Stark and a Fargo..."

“No. It's not. What it's like is she almost broke herself and Andy and _ the world  _ with her overload because she wasn’t prepared for the shock to her systems. And there is something about her ‘emulating’ me and Nathan that needs to stop.” Jack said and the elevator doors closed.

“Yes! Of course I will. I want to know everything!” Fargo rubbed his hands together as the elevator descended.

“Better _not_ be _everything_.” Jack warned.

“Speaking of everything, where is Dr. Stark? I really think he needs to know about this advancement…”

“He knows and I don’t know. You’re his assistant, why don’t you know?” Jack asked as the elevator stopped at the lobby and the bell dinged. The doors opened and waiting for them was none other than Nathan ‘I’ve got my legs spread power stance going to appear a little shorter so I can look you in the eye and intimidate you’ Stark. Talk about something that needed to be sorted out. Oh God he looked mad. 

“Found him!” Fargo sang.


	137. Truth or Dare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't want to be in the position where I made Allison evil in order to make my ship work. I feel like I'm staying true to the source material and turning it up a notch to add in some jealousy and emotional baggage from having a marriage suddenly end. Then I read the Eureka comics and I feel like I might just be being nicer than the creators of the show intended to be. LOL.

AN: A little sample from the Eureka Comic where Warren King is some Alaskan Obi-Wan with remote control wolves and is NOT at all shy about his affair with Allison. Not is Fargo. Nor is Allison. To quote Fargo, "Wow this is awkward, seeing you both at the same time. I feel like Allison." THAT came out of the panels and slapped me in the face. Holy shit was there some content they held back from the show. <https://bleedingcoffee42.tumblr.com/post/626431695227355136/eureka-comic-gems>

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 137

**Truth or Dare**

* * *

  
  
  


“Where do you think you’re taking Fargo?” Nathan asked as soon as the elevator doors opened fully.

“Oh, hey, Nathan. Great to see you. Glad your phone works so you can track me but it doesn’t seem to work for you to answer it or check your texts or voicemails.” Jack said and Nathan looked at him, annoyed but with a twinge of a smirk that said he was glad to be missed.

“I was working.” Nathan replied defensively. “And I need  _ him _ here to work.”

“I was worried.” Jack said and shoved Fargo out of the elevator. “And he wasn’t working, he was sleeping.”

“Well, Dr. Osbourne was playing his music way too loud…” Fargo began to explain.

“Shut up.” Nathan and Jack said in unison. 

“Weren’t you wearing that last night?” Jack asked as he noticed Nathan was wearing the shirt he wore to the play, just with a jacket over it. Nathan never wore the same thing two days in a row. Unlike him who had a dirty uniform in the closet just ‘in case of emergency’ and now it had robot grease/ejaculate on it. Clear grease, apparently, because why wouldn’t it be?

“No. Same but different.” Nathan said and showed off his jacket. “See, it has a jacket.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at him as he ran his hands over his jacket. He asked, suspiciously, “You’re wearing a shirt from last night, untucked and half unbuttoned, with a $3,000 suit jacket you recently dropped off for dry cleaning  _ to work _ ?”

“Well, you wore _that_ yesterday too.” Nathan pointed out and folded his arms over his chest and gave him an authoritative look that said, ‘I can make observations too’.

“Don’t turn this around on me like that. I wear the same thing everyday. And this might be a pre-worn uniform but I haven’t had a chance to do laundry or pick up my other uniform from the cleaner because I wasn’t going to be working today.” Jack said and then remembered driving by the dry cleaners and seeing clothes thrown out on the sidewalk and connected the dots. “Is _that_ why Callie was throwing out clothes on the sidewalk when I went by?  _ What _ did you say to her when you picked that up?”

“I’m sorry, but since when do you care about fashion?” Nathan asked. “And why are you on a first name basis with the flirty dry cleaner lady?” 

“Since you hit the repeat button on yesterday’s carefully chosen shirt.” Jack answered and cocked his head. “And you’re jealous I’m nice to the woman who cleans our clothes of our  _ personal _ body fluid contributions and doesn't make the situation awkward?”

“Maybe you should drop off  _ this _ uniform.” Fargo suggested and pinched his nose.

“Shut up!” They both yelled, again, in unison.

“Hello boys.” Allison said as she walked into the foyer, spinning like she was Ginger Rogers coming on stage for a sensational musical number with her soulmate. She sniffed some flowers and sat down on a desk and swung her leg as she looked at the two men who she very well could have had if they didn’t find each other first.

“You…” Jack noticed she was wearing her hair different and was in a casual dress and not her business attire. She seemed happy, which was different from the Allison he talked to this morning. “Look nice?”

“Thank you. I feel nice.” She said as she smoothed out her dress and allowed it to fan around her and leaned forward a little to show off some cleavage. Everyone reacted, which made her feel even better.

“You’re late.” Nathan informed her.

“You’re  _ never _ late.” Jack said suspiciously. “And what’s the deal with how everyone is dressing? Is it Casual Saturday today?”

“No, but that is a  _ grea _ _t_ idea. So could you go back home and get changed and come back in that blue dress shirt and your shoulder holster. The one that’s a little tight and has the fabric that hangs over your body like a silk wrapper.” Nathan said with a wink. “Certainly would start my morning off better than seeing you dragging Fargo out of the Cryo-Lab.”

“First time for everything!" Allison announced. "Me, late. Nathan, in casual clothes at work. Jack, wearing undercover Marshall wear as Sheriff would be great. We _all_ appreciated that shoulder holster you wore when you were here in Eureka the first time, Marshall. The first time around, _without_ your husband.”

“Well…” Jack said and Nathan interrupted him.

“He was still married  _ to me _ , even if I wasn’t here.” Nathan informed her, with a little bit too much hostility.

Allison smiled and swung her leg. “He was separated and divorce was pending. Like me, he understands that when you’re ‘separated’, that anyone could make a move anytime they want.”

“We were getting divorced, not legally separated.” Nathan clarified. “I didn’t sign papers and wasn’t going to. We’re happy now,  _ right Jack _ ?”

Jack felt a lot of anger in that and just smiled at him. Oh boy. Of course Nathan was going to be able to juggle all the emotions that were being coaxed to the surface by whatever science project got let loose. Possessive, defensive and annoyed Nathan was the lot he drew. He managed to chirp a response, “ _So_ happy.”

“Well.” Allison smiled at Jack. “Didn’t stop  _ someone _ from checking out the options.”

“Look, I am just a naturally flirty guy.” Jack said as Nathan gave him a glare. “I’m nice to people that doesn’t mean anything!”

“You thought I was taking you home with me when I dropped you off at Beverly’s instead.” Allison giggled and then went and put her hand over her mouth in an act of feigned embarrassment. “Whoops. Guess I let the cat out of the bag huh? Probably not the only pussy you saw at Beverly’s anyway…”

“What the hell!” Jack yelled. “I didn’t touch her! How did this become about me?”

“Welcome to my world.” Fargo said.

“Why was her lipstick on your shirt?” Allison asked. “Seriously, you could have had me or Jo and you shack up with that ho?”

“That white shirt he always wears that’s stained with his shoulder holster leather?” Nathan asked, suspiciously. “Is  _ that  _ where that stain came from on the collar?”

“OK, we’re getting off topic here.” Jack said. “No, I never touched Beverly even if she stole my clothes to get them cleaned. I might have been a little flirty…”

“A little?” Allison asked with a smile.

“But that’s how I work.” Jack said and looked to Nathan who was eyeing him now and looking hurt. “ _ You  _ know this! I was flirty with _you_ while we worked!.”

“And I married you because of it!” Nathan said. “I know where this road leads, so stop flirting with other people!”

“Says the man who is naked on a calendar on everyone’s wall in town and also gives anyone with a good reason a jar of his sperm!” Jack shot back. He was not flirting with people to get in their clothes! He just was charismatic, dammit! This wasn't about him!

“Not true! That’s a total exaggeration.” Nathan said and waved his hand dismissively. “You’re just trying to change the subject by pointing out I was second-hand promiscuous by handing out my sperm for science in order to get revenge on my wife who didn’t want to use it to make incredible babies.”

“Show of hands to everyone present who has had a sample of Nathan’s sperm in one form or another.” Jack said and raised his hand. Allison giggled and raised hers. Fargo, albeit shyly, raised his. “Oh God! You get Fargo gave some!?”

“No.” Nathan said and then frowned. “Well, Taggart did enlist his assistance in the Fudgey project. Poor Fudgey.”

“Warren is way beyond Fudgey’s _primitive_ abilities.” Fargo announced proudly.

“ _Warren_? The guy you’re sleeping with?!” Jack yelled. “Is made out of _Nathan’s sperm_!?”

“Well, hope you enhanced him with someone else’s product for a more enjoyable experience.” Ally said, her mood turning from flirty to angry as she looked at her ex-husband.

“I did. He’s pocket-sized and perfect.” Fargo announced. “Made from my mentors' contributions: Dr. Stark and Dr. King.”

“Oh, well,” Allison perked up. “You should have said you were referring to  _ that  _ Warren. Good for you Fargo, might have to borrow him sometime.”

“He’s a Betta.” Fargo said proudly. “Highly territorial and aggressive, but so beautiful and flashy.”

“Woah.” Jack said and wondered how shit _always_ got weirder in Eureka. The day was weird enough and now this just shot right into ‘normal weird’ from Fargo and he had no idea if it was science induced or just a science project. “Warren the Beta is a…mix of both GD directors? And he’s part of Taggart’s wolf Alpha, Beta, Omega thing?”

“No.” Fargo said. “He’s a fish.”

“ _ What _ ?” Jack asked, completely and totally lost. Why did nobody else seem fazed by this? _Ever_?

“Well, back to the comment you made fishing for a way to insult me, Ally.” Nathan said with a smile and then that smile faded and turned to a look of disgust. “Really? Warren King. That vain idiot? Bet that happened soon after I left, bet it was before the separation papers were signed.”

“What do you care?” Allison shook her head and coldly replied, “He was  _ here _ , Nathan, and he didn’t just take this body for granted.”

“But you were seeing them at the same time.” Fargo said.

“Shut up, Fargo.” Allison said.

“What the fuck?” Jack said and looked between all three of them. Fargo was not the element he was expecting to be circling the weird ass love triangle that seemed to be Allison Blake, yet here he was: Tinkerbell of Eureka, watching over everyone’s shoulder. He was upset on behalf of Nathan but he had no right to pass judgement on Allison  _ at al _ _l_ , as he was constantly reminded by his house of his own infidelity. Still, that had to hurt. Nathan was so proud and having his wife cheat on his with the guy who took over his job when he left? Ok, they really had some deep relationship issues they still had yet to talk about and he was terrified they would be talked about soon thanks to whatever was making people tell the truth.

“Please, let’s be honest here, Ally.” Nathan said and stepped closer to her and glared. “You only wanted a body, you never engaged with me on an intellectual level unless you wanted to fight with me. You were too intimidated by my knowledge in your areas of specialty to allow me to work _with_ you on anything. So you shut me out and shut down whenever it was just us. And while we're talking about Warren King, he took everything and everyone for granted, took great pleasure in sticking it in you while sticking it to me too.”

“Shit!” Jack said and ran his hand though his hair. Everyone was watching this and recording it! He had no idea how to stop this. Airing dirty laundry in public was way way worse than trowing laundry out in the street. Nathan could be the floodgates of truth nobody would survive. “Um, so I need to take Fargo in for questioning. There are serious allegations leveled against Fargo and I am taking him in. Cool?”

“You’re not leaving with him, I need him here to work.” Nathan repeated.

“Says the man who left me for a job in D.C.” Allison took the opportunity to get back into it with her ex.

“And it always comes back to this.” Nathan rolled his eyes.

“Guys.” Jack said as they both got their dander up to renew the fighting in GD’s lobby. Everyone pretended to not watch when he looked around, but they were enjoying the show. He needed to defuse this and defuse it now. He stepped between them and asked, quietly. "Will you two ever get tired of bickering?"

"No." Came the unison reply from Allison and Nathan.

“Just like Bettas.” Fargo said and smiled and winked.

“Wake me when it’s over.” Nathan said and threw up his hands and walked towards the elevator.

“Reminds me of the last time we slept together.” Allison shot back.

Jack’s mouth dropped open. Oh God this was bad! “Oh, no...”

“At least you can remember it.” Nathan fired back and smiled wide and mockingly at her.

“You’re an ass.” She snapped then looked at Jack. “Now I see what you love so much about him, he’s  _ all ass _ .”

“You want to know the truth, Allison?” Nathan asked.

“Oh no, not more.” Jack said and tried to wave Nathan off. "Enough truth already today. I want to wake you up! Go take a nap and I’ll come wake you...you know...like we talked about? Please?!"

  
  
“We were having our problems long before I left Eureka. But you refused to see it, “ Nathan looked Allison dead in the eye, ignoring Jack. Nathan then smirked at her and make a square shape in the air with his fingers. “Because it wasn’t framed in your _ perfect little picture. _ ”

“I never needed perfect, Nathan.” She shook her head. “I just needed you to be there.”

“You wanted everything to be easy, Allison. You wanted me to continue treating you like the princess your parents raised you thinking you were. You knew they loved me and my resume and how good we looked together. We were the ultimate power couple. You made them proud bringing me home. However you never wanted to participate in anything that wasn’t easy for you.” Nathan said. “Marriage was hard. You expected life to just be as easy as it was to be smart, and life handed you an asshole husband and an autistic son and you just kept trying to force everything to be part of the mold you expected your life to just form into. Well, it doesn’t work like that. You can’t yell or drug us into compliance to your dream, you have to interact and change to become what someone else needs. I have. I have found that love and truly do hope you find it someday as well.”

“I think that’s something we can agree on.” Allison said.

“That’s a first.” Nathan rolled his eyes.

“I need to find what I want and I have already tapped out this place and I’m sick and tired of playing den mother to all of you.” Allison stood up.

“Ok, um, you guys have some stuff to sort out.” Jack said and started pushing Fargo out of the foyer. “So, we’ll just go before you start getting into details about our sex life that will embarrass me beyond salvation.”

“Jack, I would never.” Nathan said and smiled at him. “Unlike some people who run right to their big-mouthed therapist to dish out all the gossip on their failing marriage and never once think that maybe it might have been her own fault. Sorry I wasn't the picture perfect husband you dreamed of, Allison, at least I admit it.”

"You mean the one you pretended you were when we first met,dated and got married?" Allison asked. “That man?”

"Yup." Nathan chirped.

"Like the one you're pretending to be that's interested in camping and baseball?" Allison asked and looked at Jack. “Probably so you don’t have to admit you two have nothing in common?”

"Yup." Nathan repeated. 

“OK, we’re leaving.” Jack said and Fargo whined.

“But I love this part. It’s _ so juicy _ .” Fargo said and grabbed onto a desk so he didn’t have to leave. 

“ _Never_ use that word again.” Jack kept dragging him to the entrance.

“Oh, no, no, no, no!” Allison said and put up her hands to stop them. “You stay here, _I’ll go_. Have your happily ever after, in Eureka with your beloved GD with all your sperm whales and artifacts and robots. I quit!”

“Now who’s running away from the uncomfortable situation she created!?” Nathan yelled at her.

“Me! As fast as I can! Especially since you signed my son up to be in the most dangerous project here!” Allison kept walking away.

“I’m trying to save him!” Nathan shouted.

“You’re trying to save Jack!” She yelled back. “You only made a move when he was threatened! ”

“So you go back to threatening to take my son away?” Nathan continued to yell. “What a predictable power move, Dr. Blake.”

“Fuck you, Nathan!”

“He does! And it’s phenomenal!” Nathan shouted. 

“What the hell is happening?” Jack asked as he just gave up and stood there in the mayhem and Fargo smiled at him.

“So you guys…” Fargo smirked and humped the desk. “Each other? Like swap positions?”

“It’s not about top and bottom, Fargo.” Jack finally said as he felt heat rise to his cheeks and he knew Nathan would somehow just roll with the fact that he announced to GD and live-stream viewers across Eureka that he enjoyed being on the receiving end in bed. That tended to be a very touchy subject in relationships and somehow Nathan managed to look more powerful for admitting it. He was afraid of what else Nathan might announce because he was not nearly as comfortable being labelled. "Only position I want to discuss right now is mine, as Sheriff. So let's go to my office."

“Sheriff, can I talk to you in _my_ office?” 

Jack heard the authoritative tone and Nathan had already turned his back to him to go to the elevator, making his stomach churn as he worried that the truth serum had made Nathan angry at him. He had switched from yelling at his ex to work mode and he just was not sure who he was dealing with at the moment. Not quite ready for that, he opted to go for an excuse. “Can’t. I have to take Fargo in for questioning.”

Nathan stopped and looked over his shoulder at him. “Fargo, lock yourself up in the Section 4 decontamination chamber while I talk with the Sheriff.”

“What?” Jack asked as Fargo slipped right out of his hand and took off running. “Hey! You can’t just expect my suspect to listen to you.”

“I can. I command that kind of respect and fear.” Nathan said and pushed the button on the elevator and the door opened. “So, shall we,  _ Sheriff _ ?”

No avoiding it now unless he wanted to chase Fargo through GD while the guy smacked buttons and ran through labs filled with danger trying to get away from him. He nodded and walked to the elevator, a feeling of dread coming over him as he felt like this could be the end of the good thing that they had for the last two weeks. Words spoken couldn’t be taken back and he was terrified of what Nathan really was holding back. Especially since he just made a comment about commanding respect and fear and that was not the man that was his husband, that was the Dr. Stark who ran GD and terrorized Washington, D.C. 


	138. Going Up

_Dissolved_

Chapter 138 

**Going Up**

* * *

As soon as the doors closed Jack found himself slammed against the wall of the elevator as Nathan pulled the emergency stop. Alarms blared, both overhead and in his head, and he braced himself for what was coming. Pinned to the wall by his emotionally unpredictable and powerhouse of a husband he felt every bit of his body tense as he prepared for the worst and tried to maintain enough control to not react and hurt him for this.

Then Nathan kissed him. Powerful. Possessive. Passionate.

His heart was beating hard against his chest as Nathan’s hands reached down, grabbed him by the ass cheeks, and lifted him up against the wall. Nathan walked forward to wedge his body between Jack’s legs; legs that wrapped around him instantly, the kiss became more heated by Jack kissing him back. A hand went into his husband’s hair to his lips pressed to him, tugging hard on his curls to tell him to not stop. Jack could deny it all he wanted, but he truly did like being surprised like this. 

Nathan ignored the sirens going off, ignored his phone vibrating in his pocket telling him that alarms were going off, what he couldn’t ignore was the weird industrial lubricant smell coming off Jack. He stopped kissing him long enough to ask, out of the side of his mouth, “Why do you smell like robotic lube?”

Jack retracted his lips to withdraw from the kiss and answered him, their lips still close enough that Jack felt Nathan’s facial hair against him as he talked. “Your robot may have squirted it on my uniform when he fucked my house.”

“Which explains why it smells burnt.” Nathan said, thoughtful, as he tilted his head down to sniff at Jack’s shoulder.

“Please tell me I don’t have to get another invasive decontamination shower because of this.” Jack said with a non-sexual moan.

“We can just solve that problem by taking it off.” Nathan replied as he stopped sniffing him and renewed kissing him. Soft kisses on the neck, beard hair tickling just enough to enhance the reaction. Jack shivered in response under him, just like he wanted.

“My clothes?” Jack asked, voice an octave higher than it was a second ago. 

“Yes.” Nathan said and smiled as he tracked his kisses up his neck and allowed Jack to feel the heat of his breath on his cheek. His other hand started to unbutton his stained shirt. 

“In _here_?” Jack asked as the alarms seemed to get louder and not the ones going off about the elevator stopping. 

“Yes.” Nathan grinned as his hand let go of Jack’s right butt cheek to start unbuckling his gun belt. Jack's leg strength was good enough to keep him right where he wanted him, which was good because he'd have to come away from the wall a bit to get this belt off. 

“In _the elevator_?!” Jack asked and felt his body tense. Nathan knew there was security cameras in here!

“Fuck yes.” Nathan said and stopped kissing to give Jack a devilish smile as he got Jack’s belt unbuckled, leaned back, and allowed gravity to take ahold. The gun belt dropped to the floor. He put Jack's back, to the wall once more, and went in to get his other belt unbuckled. 

“ _Someone_ , probably a whole team of someones, is going to come rescue us because you just pulled the _fire alarm_ on the special access elevator to your office and the super secret floors of GD.” Jack reminded him.

“Let them watch, you’re the one with the issues, not me.” Nathan said and grabbed the leather of Jack’s belt and Jack’s hand grabbed his, hard.

“Survey says, no.” Jack let go of Nathan’s hand long enough to pull the button to start the elevator moving again “You’re not yourself. And this would be taking advantage of you in some way.”

“Jack,” Nathan smiled at him. “I very much want to fuck you in public.”

“I don’t.” Jack reminded him.

“ _Yet_.” Nathan said with a seductive grin.

“Nathan, are you feeling Ok?” Jack asked and ran his hand through his hair. 

“I feel _good._ ” Nathan grinned as the doors to his office opened. He ground his crotch into Jack. “Wanna feel me?”

“At work? _During_ work?” Jack asked. 

“It’s our day off,” Nathan licked his lips as he leaned closer to Jack’s ear. “And I left you waiting and wanting. I need to apologize for that.” 

“But _we’re working._ ”

“You liked my little illustration about working together.” Nathan reminded him and ran his hand up Jack’s hip to his handcuffs. “Do we need to revisit that discussion?”

“Remind me again _why_ you went to work instead of coming back to the campsite?” Jack whispered in his ear. "Where I was already naked and horny and didn't smell like robot jizz?"

Nathan huffed and rolled his eyes and let go of Jack, leaving him to cling to him so he didn’t fall to the floor before he got his legs back under him. “And here we go. The world’s biggest complaint from my spouses: ‘Why do you _always_ work’?”

“Not a complaint, a question.” Jack said and rubbed Nathan’s face as he let go of his hair and let his hand travel down to his chin. “People are acting weird and you’re acting weird and I’m worried you got infected with the truth proclamation plague like everyone else. So, can you tell me what happened last night?”

“Better than tell you, I’ll _show_ you.” Nathan said as the elevator door opened at his office.

Jack was expecting another kiss, maybe even getting picked up and put on the desk, but Nathan walked out of the elevator, went over to his little kitchenette table, went down on one knee and used both hands to proudly present….a drawing on the fridge? He picked up his gun belt and put it back on as he walked over to see what Nathan was so proudly showing him as evidence.

“ _This_.” Nathan whispered. “Is the future.”

Jack walked over and glanced at the drawing held to the small refrigerator with Global Dynamics logo magnets. He looked to Nathan and realized this wasn’t some attempt to lure him over to a table and con him into bending over to look at some clue, his smile said that he was genuinely convinced this was a super secret message from the future. “You wanted to show me _this_? A photo of a _crayon drawing_?”

“Kevin drew it on his bedroom wall.” Nathan said, “I wasn’t thinking straight last night, I should have cut out the drywall and just taken the whole thing instead of taken a picture with my phone.”

“Right, cause that’s the rational response to your child drawing on the walls.” Jack said and bent down to look at the picture in question. 

"I know." Nathan sighed. "I was upset. Probably would have had to section it to get in in the car."

Jack bit his lip. Nathan was being serious. Oh boy this problem of the day was truly going to get wild. He focused instead on the drawing that Nathan felt was a sign of the end of times. "Kevin drew a picture of Bradley Cooper holding Mike Rowe in a weird hallway as Samwise Gamgee holds up a Magic 8 Ball? ”

Nathan looked at Jack and frowned. He was at eye level now, because he was bending down looking at the art and he was still on his knee. Jack looked at him, obviously waiting for an answer. He was being serious, not mocking him. Jack saw things different. He apparently saw nonsense. Nathan pointed to the drawing, with authority. “This is _you_. This is _me_. _That_ , is God.”

Jack looked at the picture again for a second, looked back to Nathan who was giving him the ‘why can’t you understand this?’ look, and then looked back at the drawing. “Did Kevin tell you this? I don’t see labels on anyone.”

“You are the one lying there with the star on his shirt.” Nathan explained and tapped the photo. “That’s clearly you. Who else would that be?”

“OK. I have _way_ more hair than that.” Jack said. 

“This, is me.” Nathan said and tapped his own nose to show his distinctive profile and then taped the triangle nose on the guy with curl scribbled hair on the paper. “I am holding you and crying, and I don’t look like Bradley Cooper.”

“Ok.” Jack said and still didn’t see it. He reached out and pointed to the kinda overweight guy with curly hair. “And how is _this God_?”

“Who else would it be?”

“Samwise?” Jack repeated. “From the 'Lord of the Rings'?"

“What do _you_ think God looks like?” Nathan asked curiously.

Jack looked at him. “You?”

“Me?” Nathan asked, surprised. “Then why do you think I’m capable of such evil?”

“God kinda does some large scale awful stuff and if God was going to make someone perfect in his own image, I can't imagine it being anyone other than you. Certainly not Sam the Hobbit.” Jack said honestly. “My question is why do you think that God looks like the opposite of you? Short. Heavier. Same barber?”

“Jack, you’re not seeing this for this is.” Nathan said and ran his hand over the photo. "It's a vision!"

“Kevin's not Bob Ross and this is far from a happy little funeral.” Jack sighed and added. “And Kevin isn’t a prophet. He's just a kid with parents that argue a lot and he's probably drawing as a way to escape that reality and enjoy the fantasy of being in a movie he recently watched. ”

“Then what is happening in this picture?” Nathan asked him and stroked his beard, curious to find out what Jack saw in his future. “What _do you see_?”

“Well, if you're insistent that this is us and this is some weird inkblot test, we probably got caught having sex in some weird hexagon hallway by the janitor who had to bring a lantern in due to some kind of power outage. We never really conquered that shower sex conundrum, I doubt we’d get the right bending and leverage with funky wall angles like that. Why would you make a hallway that shape? Who the hell designed this place?”

Nathan squinted at the picture. “Do you need glasses?”

“No. Do you need an MRI?” Jack asked.

“If this is us having sex, why is your shirt destroyed and your chest bleeding?”

“I probably got you excited by whatever position I came up with and you got nippy, chewed right through my shirt, and bit off my nipple.” Jack answered and winced. “Better questions would have been ‘why did my son draw this’ and I would have replied with ‘you shouldn’t have given him your safety calendar’ or access to the live feed EuTube channel.”

Nathan looked at him and then at the picture. “I think you’re wrong and you refuse to see the clear picture of your death because it terrifies you.”

“I think you’re experiencing some odd effects from the jealous inducing, horny hallucinogen, truth serum that is infecting people of Eureka.” Jack said. “So, why don't we start with an easy question: where you went last night?”

“This is the artifact.” Nathan tapped on the picture and then ran his finger around the hallway. “This is the artifact chamber. See the radiation symbol?”

“You mean the same one that’s on you in your calendar centerfold? Yeah, I’m familiar with it. I also know you _love radiation_.” Jack said in his mock Nathan voice.

“And you. Alot.” Nathan said honestly and smiled at him.

“I can see that, because you’re being really nice to me and I was kinda worried you were going to be super honest and we weren’t going to be able to recover from the truth.” Jack said and smiled back at him. “So why the hell are you pretending to like baseball and camping?”

“I don’t hate them, I just don’t like them.” Nathan shrugged. “I like being with you and we don’t have much in common so when we’re not working or fucking we don’t have much to go on. I'm scared of what happens to us when we're not saving the world or enjoying every sexual idea that comes to mind. I'm scared of the day when we sit in the living room and have nothing to talk about and realize we have nothing in common. I’m trying to learn what you like so much about baseball, but I just…”

“What?” Jack asked seeing he was pained by the admission.

“Well from a management standpoint it bothers me. Why have most of your people standing around doing nothing in the grass for the majority of the game just in case your pitcher fucks up and let’s someone get a hit?”

“It’s... _the game_.” Jack said. “A multi-faceted game of strategy and athleticism.”

“And speaking of the pitcher, if he’s so valuable, why make him do all the work and then risk him as an asset by letting him be a batter?” Nathan asked.

Jack gasped and stood up straight. Suddenly the truth was coming out! “You...you actually think the designated hitter is valid!?”

“Yes. Why allow your pitcher do more than throw and take the chance he’ll get hurt? Why let the worst batter on your team go to the plate?” Nathan looked up at him and asked. "Why?"

“Oh my God!” Jack covered his mouth with his hands. “I married a fan of American League baseball? What the hell!”

“Actually it’s not _that bad,_ because I really don’t like the game enough to be a fan of anything other than you.” Nathan said with a warm smile. "But you did pick the dumb league."

“I can’t believe you would hide this from me!” Jack said. “Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Well, no.” Nathan said and stood up and shrugged. “I think you’re biased because you were a pitcher and you think you’re entitled to get up and take a couple of swings. Your batting average from high school says that you were never really that good at hitting…”

Jack let loose a pitiful whine.

“And I think if you grew up in a town with an American League team you might have felt differently, even being a pitcher from childhood. Think about it. Think about resting on the bench and keeping your arm protected while someone whose job it is to do more than hit pop flies to the bored outfielders brought in some runs in for your team to cushion your lead for when your arm got tired in the 7th inning.”

Jack’s whine became a whistle, like a balloon slowly being deflated.

“What? No shame in letting someone step in and do the job they are an expert in. You like being the Jack of All Trades but why not concentrate on the one thing you love?” Nathan asked. "It's because you love the thrill of danger and the prospect of getting hurt."

“This from the guy who specializes _in everything_?!?” Jack finally found his voice, even if it was a little pitchy. 

“Well, that’s me. All my fields overlap, yours is very specific no matter how many balls you know how to handle.” Nathan said. "Pitching wise. Work wise, you understand how everything overlaps, right?"

“Then why play with me?” Jack asked and Nathan smirked and he clarified. "Baseball."

“Because you love it and the catching position really helps me work my thighs and calves better than anything in the gym. Plus you are like an artist, the way your body moves when you pitch. Very efficient. Impressive really that you can throw with such accuracy and speed at your age and being out of shape. That...feeling of physics coming from your hand to mine is really hot. I do love the physics of it.”

“Oh, I will be throwing so much harder in the next game.” Jack rubbed his face. He was expecting some awful truths; he just was not prepared for that. The camping thing he knew, but he thought Nathan really was beginning to get into baseball a little. “So, we need to get back to figuring out our problem in Eureka.”

“My problem is: you’re going to die.” Nathan said and leaned down to point at the picture. “And, since you’re incapable of interpreting art, this is God because that is the only person who can take you away. I can fix everything else, I can’t cheat death. So, I’m going to do what I can to keep his hands off you.”

“OK. Let’s work on that, together? Good? Maybe start with why you called in Kim to an emergency Artifact meeting last night. Was it because of this picture?” Jack bent over to look at the picture again and still did not see what Nathan was freaking out about. 

“Yes.”

“Did she think you were crazy?”

“No.”

Jack hung his head as he bent over and put his hands on his knees. “Did you stay here all night? Is it possible you released some emotional tear gas at some point?”

“I showed her the mural of your death that Kevin drew, we both took it seriously, she went to work on evaluating the readings from the Artifact to see if it was communicating with Kevin at the time he made this.” Nathan said and reached out to pet his head. 

“Did you stay here?” Jack asked as Nathan pet him like he was checking to see if his hair might just be thin enough to start receding at some point. Asshole.

“No, I wanted to get back to you to check on you.” Nathan replied. “You run into danger. I am not wrong to think you’ll go down a hallway with a radiation symbol in Section 5, without care for your own safety, and get your chest eaten by something.”

“But why is there a Hobbit?” Jack asked and still didn’t understand why he was insisting that he was dying. Apparently Nathan’s biggest fear was him dying. Ok. He probably had good reason to worry about that.

“God, is not a Hobbit.” Nathan sighed. He could be so stubborn.

“So what happened?” Jack asked as he stood up and Nathan pouted. He reached out and ran his hand through his hair to encourage him to share. “Last night? You never showed up?”

“I..uh…”

“Come on, tell me.” Jack said softly. Come on Truth Serum, work your wicked ways!

“I fell asleep.” Nathan admitted.

Jack kept stroking his hair, coaxing out the truth. “Where?”

“In the car.” Nathan said and hung his head. “I didn’t want to tell you because you would lecture me about being overworked and exhausted and running on caffeine fumes. I fell asleep behind the wheel and I already had an accident last week and you didn’t believe me that it was an accident then. I didn’t want the guilt trip for just drifting to the side of the road, hitting the curb and my foot falling off the gas pedal. I woke up in the morning and came to work to avoid answering your questions.”

“I’m glad you’re safe. That’s all I care about.” Jack said and Nathan rolled his eyes. _Really?_

“Not really. You like being superior by pointing out how people break the laws. Zoe is right, you are judgey.” Nathan informed him. “You would have never let me live that down.”

“Speaking of never living things down and broken laws, I need to go get Fargo and we need to start figuring out what the hell is going on today.” Jack said. "Because the way we're going, everyone is going to have a chance to meet God soon if they continue to get pissed at each other while in possession of many many world-ending devices."

“Fine.” Nathan pouted.

“Please don’t hide things from me and for god’s sake, answer your phone.” Jack said and ran his hand over Nathan’s suit jacket and then over his half unbuttoned shirt and had to admit it was a damned good look on him. Everything was though.

“I was in Section 5.” Nathan offered as an excuse. “Trying to save your life.”

“It’s just a drawing, Nathan.” Jack said. “I know you believe in this Artifact and I love that you take Kevin seriously, but you need to remember what you lecture Allison about where he is concerned: He reacts to you.”

“Let me worry about the science and you worry about the law.” Nathan said and pulled Jack into a hug. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“How about you help me figure out what is going on, science wise?” Jack offered. “Before more truth hurts people.”

“I can do that.” Nathan said and squeezed him harder. He wasn’t going to let anyone take him away. 

“Great. I’m going to go get Fargo and figure out what happened between him and Seth Osbourne.” Jack said and Nathan didn’t let go. 

“You’re going back to your office?” Nathan squeezed harder as Jack squirmed and tried to break free.

“Yes. I would prefer to remove Fargo from his comfort zone, which appears to be Section 4, in order to get a statement from him.” Jack said and stopped struggling. Nathan kissed his cheek and then released him.

“I’ll come with you to let him out of the Decontamination Chamber and you can tell me what’s going on on the way.” Nathan smiled.

“Great.” Jack said and kissed him on the lips. “Because I can really use your help.”


	139. Throw Away the Key

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 139

**Throw Away the Key**

* * *

“So everyone is compelled to tell the truth or maybe it’s like some kind of mental filter remover? Is  _ that  _ possible?” Jack asked as he got on the elevator with Nathan and heard the indicator from his phone that he received a text. It was Zoe telling him the frequency of the two-way radio channel she was planning to work off of. Then another text came through from her: ‘ _ Way to come back from the offseason with the best episode of Carter-Stark yet! Live feed ratings were off the charts!’ _ He sighed. Once again Eureka managed to tune in to the drama. This couldn’t not end soon enough.

“Anything is possible. Especially with the Artifact being able to communicate with people telepathically.” Nathan said as the elevator doors closed. He played with his suit jacket and shirt, making sure it was laying over his chest perfectly to show off his goods. Perhaps he could get slammed into the wall by Jack on the way down to Section 4 if he played his cards right. He turned to his husband and gave him a 'you can't resist me' smile. 

“You think the Artifact is causing people _to be honest_ with each other? That sounds like a harbinger of chaos.” Jack asked and wondered why Nathan was giving him that weird smile. It was half 'you're an idiot' and half 'idiot, look at me'. Ether way, 'idiot' was in there and he felt kinda dumb for pitching theories right now.

“Truth coming out of the well to shame mankind.” Nathan said thoughtfully and leaned against the wall of the elevator and tried to look inviting. 

“ _T_ _ hat _ sounds like S.A.R.A.H.” Jack said with a sigh and then turned to look at what Nathan as doing. Was he posing for a new calendar spread?"

“Or Allison.” Nathan played with his shirt a little to draw Jack's eyes to him. He gave him a minute to come to the realization what was being offered, as he knew from experience that Jack might be super flirty but would be shocked when someone actually wanted to make something of his flirting. Especially in an elevator.

“Speaking of her…” Jack said and put his hands in his pockets. “Um, she just _ quit. _ ”

“Probably the best decision she’s made in a long time.” Nathan said as the elevator door dinged at Level 4. The doors opened and he gave up trying to lure Jack over to him since he was focused on working. He stood up and sighed as Jack stepped out of the elevator and he had no choice but to follow. Maybe he should have unbuttoned his shirt completely, then Jack would have had no option but to come over and help him button up his shirt to look 'professional'. Hands busy, he could have pulled the emergency stop button again. Damn. Lost opportunity.

That reply could have been ‘honesty drug’ Nathan or just regular ‘I sometimes spice up my coffee with a shot of self-actualization’ Nathan. “So, speaking of decisions, any special reason you wanted a new cell phone tower erected within spitting distance of our house?”

“The bunker won’t be our house for long, we already agreed to that.” Nathan said as they walked down the hallway. “Part of being able to move S.A.R.A.H. into the director’s house is giving her the ability to store data offsite. We need to keep her servers offsite so they don’t interfere with anything in our new house.”

“I though she was getting the new house as a body?” Jack asked as they walked. “But, now you’re telling me she’s just going to haunt the new house via Wi-Fi.”

“That’s the compromise we need to make to get out of the bunker ASAP and into a house that doesn’t feel like a tomb.” Nathan said. “The new cell tower will be secure and powerful, giving her more range and also allowing her to have the bunker to herself to experiment with Andy.”

“We’re encouraging this relationship?” Jack asked. "We're letting them move in together!?"

“Absolutely. S.A.R.A.H. and Andy are evolving. That is something we need to encourage and study for the future of Artificial Intelligence.” Nathan replied.

“Maybe you’ll reconsider when you find out that S.A.R.A.H. told Andy to steal your BMW and pick up Zoe from the Director’s House at midnight and bring her home so they could sit on the couch and chat about ‘girl stuff’ all night while Andy sat outside on the step waiting to be arrested for his crimes.” Jack said.

“No, that’s great!” Nathan smiled. “They’re obviously learning, learning from your felon daughter, but learning none the less. That’s incredible progress! They’re problem solving like teenagers, by turning into criminals.”

“Not how I hoped the evolution would go. Though I'm glad you're Ok with it because Andy is driving around in your wrecked car being a Deputy because Jo is…being weird.” Jack wasn't sure how else to put it. “So, any experiments going on last night that would have made people weird? Like the paranoid monkey mind machine had it’s dial turned to ‘truth of dare’ instead of ‘paranoia pandemonium?’”

“I shut down pretty much every experiment that could cause problems and gave everyone the weekend off so _we_ could have a weekend off.” Nathan said and looked at Jack. “Of course I spun it as some bullshit about everyone working hard and teamwork helped us get our budget renewed and that everyone deserves to take a much deserved break for being good employees. Blah Blah.”

“That’s nice.” Jack said and then Nathan’s grin turned wicked.

“Yeah, come Monday I start redacting people. This place is filled with slackers, self-serving projects and I’ve had to bail their asses out on damned near everything in the last two weeks. I do do everything around here. Why keep them around. Hell, I should clone myself.”

“Oh God, no.” Jack said.

“That’s actually one of my best ideas.” Nathan said as they walked into the room with the decontamination chamber. Fargo was sitting in the chair inside the chamber looking like a dog who tore something up because his owner left him home. He pressed the intercom button. Fargo jumped to attention. “Fargo! why don’t you just clone me instead of making me into fish?”

“I try to mask my adoration for you by including the parts of you that I idolize and not outright recreating you like an idol I would want to worship.” Fargo said. “Sunday school really traumatized me. Your husband also has a gun and he shot Henry for less.”

"Yeah, don't create false idols or God, Samwise Gamgee, might throw you into the hellfire of Mordor for your sins." Jack said dryly. 

"What?" Fargo asked. 

“Let’s not clone Nathan.” Jack summarized to avoid Nathan pulling out his crayon drawing evidence again and revisiting art history class. “I can barely handle one of him. Last thing Eureka needs is an army of Starks scaring them.”

“Or pleasuring them.” Fargo said.

“Stop.” Jack said and took Nathan’s finger off the intercom. He really hoped that Nathan was going to help him with this problem as it looked like everyone else was still abnormal weird. Letting Fargo out with the idea of cloning Nathan just was not what he needed on his pile of 'things gone wrong' today. “Are you feeling better? Feeling more like yourself?”

“I am way more focused.” Nathan said with a smile as he tapped his password into the door lock and it opened.

“Thank God.” Jack said. “So, maybe it’s just a temporary thing and people will get over it?”

“No.” Nathan said.

“No?” Jack asked.

“This, however, is only temporary.” Nathan said, reached out and grabbed Jack by the shirt and shoved him in the room with Fargo and shut the door. ”To keep you safe I have to take some drastic measures.”

Jack spun around and looked at him, betrayed. “What the fuck!”

“It’s for your own good, I can’t lose you.” Nathan said into the intercom. “I have to lock you up because you cover so much ground and never sit still. Sorry. Even your office is dangerous. Let’s not forget how you took a dead body and dissected it on your desk a few days ago!”

“Nathan, you can’t lock me up.” Jack tried to reason with him but knew that Nathan was just faking being reasonable.

“It’s to keep you safe.” Nathan repeated and blew him a kiss.

“You actually think _GD_ is the safe place? Have you noticed this is the doomsday factory!?!? Everything bad originates from here.” Jack plead. 

“Which is why I am going back to working with the Artifact team to figure out what is going on.” Nathan said and rolled his eyes. “I have to do  _ everything  _ around here myself.”

“Which is why you need to let me out!” Jack screamed. “So I can figure out what is going on because it’s not the damned Artifact! If it was, why am I not affected like everyone else?”

“No, I need you where you are safe. It’s my turn to protect you.” Nathan said. 

“Because of a crayon drawing?!” Jack yelled.

“Yes.” Nathan said and took out his phone to show him the picture again, hoping he would see the true meaning in it now. 

“Do you remember that the reason we’re in Eureka at all was because I was pissed at you for trying to force me to move to D.C. with you?” Jack asked. "For trying to trap me in Washington?"

“I do. I remember why you stormed into our...well my...apartment screaming and slapping me in the chest with divorce papers. I remember, very clearly, watching you walk out the door and thinking I would never see you again. ” Nathan said and put his hand on the glass. “It's not a memory wiper thing, Jack. This problem is The Artifact. It's enlightenment! It's showing people the truth!"

"Everyone is spiraling out of control and you just want to hang out in the basement with your pet project while the town goes to hell?" Jack asked.

"Jack, they don't do anything, anyway." Nathan said and put his phone away. "Save me the trouble of firing them and all that paperwork. Let them fight."

"Come on, Nathan. I can help them. You need to let me out." Jack said and saw Nathan wasn't going to budge.

"That's just nature sorting things out. Let it. You’re in danger, if you try to stop it, so I am within my rights to use all my resources to protect you.” Nathan said.

“I’m the Sheriff, that’s _my_ job!”

“Not in my facility it isn’t.” Nathan winked and let go of the intercom button and backed out of the room. It was time to figure out what the hell the Artifact wanted because it was not going to get Jack Carter. 

“Awesome.” Jack said and pounded his fist on the glass door. Then he turned to look at Fargo. “Thanks a lot, Fargo.”

“What? You fell for it!” Fargo said and crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you even know the man you married?”

“Apparently not.” Jack waited to make sure that Nathan left and then pulled out his phone. It had no signal. “He apparently thinks the DH is a good idea.”

“Well, it’s just a waste to put a pitcher in the lineup.” Fargo mumbled.

“Don’t push me, Fargo.” Jack said and pointed at him as he raised his phone up to try and get a better signal.

“Already tried that.” Fargo said and showed him his own phone. “In the big house they don’t let you have anything that can be used as a weapon. I never got a phone call.”

“You locked yourself in here on the orders of the man whose image you are trying to recreate with mermaids. You don’t get rights for trapping yourself in a cell.” Jack rolled his eyes and looked down at his police radio. He pulled his radio receiver off his shirt pocket and set it for the channel Zoe was on. Then he pressed the button and said, “Zoe, you there?”

_ “10-4 _ ”

“Cute. So, uh, Nathan locked me up in a decontamination chamber in Section 4 to keep me safe, my cell doesn’t work and I’m going to need you to send in some backup to get me out.” Jack said as he looked around the room he had used to interrogate guys during that MPH fiasco. If it was a decontamination chamber, why did it seem like it was never used for anything other than interrogation? Did other people not get splattered with toxic goo as much as he did? 

_ “S.A.R.A.H. says she can’t do that because she’s really afraid of what Nathan will do if she pokes around his building. _ ”

“But that doesn’t apply to when she lets his robot poke around her?” Jack asked and let go of the receiver and thought about what could be causing this problem. Everyone was affected, as far as he could tell from his limited interactions, except him and Zoe. He needed to get out of here and figure out if anyone was not infected. “OK, let’s try a physical person then. This is Section 4, doesn’t require special access other than the regular building security.”

_ “Allison?” _

“Oh no.” Jack said and looked at Fargo who was giggling. Apparently he enjoyed the show earlier. “She’s, um, pretty pissed. She also quit.”

_ “I saw. But that was before and ,now, it’s later. People seem to play the wide range of emotions depending on the scene.” _

Jack stopped walking around and thought about that before he clicked on his receiver. “Speaking of playing a part, isn’t it coincidental that we wake up to a whole different world right after most of the town went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream?”

“ _You think someone was inspired by the play to Puck with people?_ ”

“Maybe?” Jack said and looked at Fargo who looked back at him suspiciously. “People are really struggling with emotions around here, especially now that Nathan is back. Maybe someone wanted to change things up? Change how people are viewed? It’s not crazy to think someone would use a drug to save their job or relationship. I mean…”

“ _Yeah, yeah. I remember Dylan. My boyfriend of 48 hours who turned out to be a drug dealer and how you’re never going to let me live that down_.”

Jack felt guilt now, because Nathan had just said that same thing about falling asleep at the wheel. “Sorry, I was just referencing the fact that we already had a drug cooked to give someone the edge to get their work done.”

“ _Yeah, I’m sorry too. Just on edge because Mom has been calling me non-stop and just hammering me with insights and I’m tired of being blamed for everything. Like it’s my fault I was born: you two were the one who had unprotected sex after a concert and made me._ ”

“She told you _that_!?” Jack asked and his heart broke a little. Oh, he needed to fix this shit now!

“ _I always knew, Dad. I can do math. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened when you guys got married and then had me six months later._ ”

Jack looked up and saw Fargo cover his mouth in shock. He winced and shook his head. He forgot that this was an open conversation because it was over two-way radio and not on a cell and Fargo was listening in. “Ok, sweetie, I genuinely want to answer all your questions, but we should probably do that in person instead of right now over the radio with Fargo and who knows who else, listening.”

“ _Yeah, sorry. Ok, ,So you were saying you think this is a drug_?”

“Yes. Do you know what drug Shakespeare was referring to in the play?” Jack asked. “Could it be some kind of old-timey hallucinogen someone decided to pick out of the woods and cook over the open fire to have some acid trip dreams?”

“ _Let me check, I didn’t become a Shakespeare scholar to play the part, Dad. I just wanted to get out of class._ ” 

“Are we being honest with each other because we’re truly evolving in our father-daughter relationship or because you huffed some Elizabethan Ecstasy?” Jack asked and put his head against the wall and waited for the reply. 

“ _We're being honest, because we're partners. Well, according to the internet, the plant used in the play is called Viola Tricolor._ ”

“Hey Fargo?” Jack asked before he pressed the button on his radio to reply to Zoe. “Wasn’t the name of Seth’s flower something Violet-like? Viola? Violet Chia-Pet?”

“More like Violent.” Fargo growled. “And he’s still out there causing mayhem! Infecting people!”

“Nevermind.” Jack said.

Zoe continued reading the information out to him. “ _Also known as the wild pansy, Johnny Jump up, heartsease, heart's ease, heart's delight, tickle-my-fancy, Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me, come-and-cuddle-me, three faces in a hood, or love-in-idleness_.”

Jack clicked the button. “Sounds like we can suggest a new name of ‘Eureka’s going to kill me with honesty’ to Wikipedia.”

“ _Well, n_ _ot seeing anything as a therapy device. I_ _t does has a long history of use as herbal medicine for epilepsy, skin diseases, respiratory issues._ “

“Not with those nicknames it doesn’t.” Jack replied with a smile. “‘Come-and-cuddle-me’ is not something you get out of the medicine cabinet to stave off the embrace of mesothelioma.”

_“I agree. According to mythology, Cupid shot one of his arrows and missed and hit this flower, and being the god of desire and affection, the flower got that trait and became a love potion. Hence the love-in-idleness as it’s often used for idle or vile acts. Pucking with people like Titania._ ”

“So it’s love potion gone Eureka wrong?” Jack said and looked up as some alarms blared overhead. That sounded like a imminent disaster warning of some kind. "Or sinking the Titanic." 

“ _That was Roman myth, Greeks have another. Zeus fell in love with a woman named Lo and Hera got jealous._ ”

“Imagine that, Zeus being Zeus.” Jack said and looked through the door to see people running in the hallway, probably evacuating or running from Taggart's petting zoo. Who knew.

“Some people are just cheaters.” Fargo chirped. 

Jack looked over at Fargo as he waited on Zoe's reply. "You cheat Fargo. Remember the MPH?"

"Oh." Fargo frowned. "Well, you certainly do like to hold mistakes over people, don't you Sheriff!"

"It was last week, Fargo." Jack reminded him.

“ _So Zeus transformed Lo into a heifer so she could graze at his feet and hide her from Hera. He caused the flowers to grow to supplement her diet because he turned her into a cow and felt bad. Lots of stuff happens after that so I'll hold off on the stories until later, the important thing is that this potion causes problems._ ”

“Imagine that!” Jack said without hitting the button. He glared at Fargo. “Someone getting jealous and making a human into an animal so it can hang out with you and won't make someone jealous!”

Fargo narrowed his eyes at him. “You just don’t appreciate scientific advancement.”

“Don’t turn a god-like mans' sperm into whales or goldfish.” Jack said. “I get _that_.”

_ “Dad, you still there?” _

“Yes. Sorry, Fargo and I are arguing about him playing God.”

_“Fudgey again?_ ”

“Yeah, always.” Jack sighed. “Seth has a huge farm of hybrid flowers that very well could be for ‘medicinal purposes’ and Seth’s not exactly a loveable guy so maybe he’s growing some love potion over there? Since Fargo unplugged his music machine maybe that was the one thing keeping his flowers from dosing all of Eureka? Or maybe the music was setting the mood for when the love potion magic happened? I honestly don’t know. I know that I need to get out of here and Seth is looking like the guy I need to talk to.”

"Like I've been telling you!" Fargo said. 

“ _ I’ve run out of options for springing you from jail. Um….what did you do with Andy?” _

“Yes! Send him!” Jack said and looked at Fargo. “I sent Andy to take care of Seth’s police report so tell him to just bring him in for questioning and come get me out of here.”

_ “I’ll call him. _ ”

“Thanks.”

_ “It’s cute Nathan wants to protect you _ .  _ If he’s dosed with love potion and his instinct is to take care of you, that’s kinda sweet. I thought he's be the jealous or angry one and he's turning out to be the least crazy of the bunch. _ ”

“It is sweet, but he also thinks Kevin is the next Nostradamus and that a crayon mural is predicting our future.” Jack shook his head. “He also thinks Samwise Gamgee is God.”

“ _ It could be worse.” _

“Yeah, he could think the Designated Hitter rule is a good idea.” Jack said sourly.

“ _ Yeah… _ ” Zoe laughed. “ _ Wait. Are you serious? _ ”

“Yes.”

“ _ Oh my God, Dad. Did you even get to know him before you married him? _ ”

“I know. I didn’t ask the important questions. I heard ‘you want to get married?’ and I just said ‘yes’. Just how my life goes.”

“ _ You’re going to be wearing an Oakland A’s uniform and locked in GD’s unused decontamination lab if he gets his way. _ ”

“Yup. That’s the way things are looking.” Jack said. 

“ _ I’ll look into this flower and see what we’re chemically dealing with. I’ll dispatch Andy to your location, over and out.” _


	140. Violets are Blue

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 140

**Violets are Blue**

* * *

“I caught Dr. Osbourne.” Andy said, proudly, as he pressed the intercom button on the decontamination chamber in Section 4 at GD. “He was trying to burn down Dr. Fargo’s house.”

“ _ Doctor _ Fargo?” Jack asked and then heard a gurgle of outrage from behind him and turned to look. Fargo glared at him and raised his hand. “Oh, sorry, I forget you probably need a PhD to work here.”

“ _Probably?_ ” Fargo spat. “Do you know how many..”

“Later.” Jack said and looked back at his Deputy through the glass on the door. 

“You Ok, boss?” Andy asked. “Your voice indicates you’re extremely agitated.”

“I’ve been locked in here with Fargo _for an hour_.” Jack said and pointed to the keypad as he pressed his face against the glass to see it. “So, if you could, get me out, that would be great.”

“Sorry, I would have been here sooner but the wheel fell off the car and I had to fashion something new.” Andy explained and began typing in possible passwords based off of the information he had on Dr. Stark. First was Jack’s birthday. Wrong. Next, day they got married. Also wrong. Try...date set for their wedding...Nope.

Jack heard the angry sound of a password being rejected. “Andy?”

“Boss?”

“Pretty sure security around here is high tech enough to sound an alarm about wrong passwords, namely to the director who also has a JackApp to locate me, thanks to Fargo.” Jack looked at Fargo and narrowed his eyes at him. “Hey, Fargo?”

“It’s _Doctor_ Fargo to you!”

“Paging Doctor Fargo!” Jack hollered and watched him cover his ears as it echoed through the room. “We need your password! You got in here, you had to use a password.”

“Dr. Stark told me to lock myself in here and did not instruct me to let myself out! So, no! I will not knowingly help a fugitive escape!” Fargo said. “Get comfortable, roomie!”

Jack rolled his eyes and reached for his radio again. “Hey, Zoe? Mind asking S.A.R.A.H. what Fargo’s password is? He’s being uncooperative and putting me and Nathan in danger.”

“No!” Fargo yelled but Carter already had his finger off the receiver and was grinning at him. “Fine! I’ll tell Andy but you better not listen.”

“ _ S.A.R.A.H. said… _ ” Zoe's voice came over the radio.

“Nevermind. Fargo opted to cooperate, over.” Jack replied back before Zoe could answer. More than likely his house would have replied with a plea to not ask her to compromise her integrity. Fargo didn't know that. Jack walked over to the chair Fargo was claiming as his own because he was ‘incarcerated longer and had seniority.’ and waited for him to give Andy the information. 

“41477” Fargo whispered into the intercom.

Andy input the code and the door opened, a broad smile on his face. Sarah Michelle Geller's birthday! How predictable! “Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Fargo.”

“Well, I was getting sick of the company.... so go ahead and make your break for it, Carter!” Fargo said and went back over to his chair.

“You’re coming with me.” Jack reminded him and grabbed him by the arm.

“But Dr. Stark said…”

“Dr. Stark thinks the Eye of Sauron is in the basement.” Jack said and dragged Fargo out of the room. “He also has your stupid tracking App on his phone and will know I’m no longer locked up. So, don’t fight me or Andy is going to carry you.”

“No can do, Boss.” Andy said as Carter stepped out of the chamber and he pointed to his missing leg. “I had to recreate the upper and lower control arms and spindle for the BMW and all I had on me was a spare leg.”

Jack stared at him and looked at the empty pant leg. “That’s not a rational choice, Andy.”

“Well, nothing was going to stand between me and doing my duty, boss.”

“Except maybe...standing?” Jack said and remembered Nathan’s car was a manual transmission. “Or the clutch?”

“I can hop.” Andy winked and hopped to show how he was mobile. “And you don’t need the clutch if you never leave first gear! I started it with my hand, no need to shift!”

“Well, hop to it.” Jack said and dragged Fargo out of the room. “Before Nathan puts GD in lockdown and traps us here or finds out you ruined his transmission.”

“His phone doesn’t work in Section 5, idiot.” Fargo said as he got dragged away from the lab and into the hall. “No signals in or out. It’s _classified_ research, it’s very hush-hush and no-no on reaching the outside world.”

“Well, I need to reach him and that's going to be a problem.” Jack said as he dragged Fargo by the hand to the elevator and Andy hopped along beside them. “So who has access to Section 5 besides Allison since she just quit and I don’t know how far she’s made it up the chain of command announcing that? How do I get a hold of him?”

“Dr. Blake.” Fargo said. “Did you not hear me when I said it was super secure?”

“It’s super  _ stupid _ that there is part of the building only two people can access.” Jack said and smacked the button on the elevator. “What about researchers? Who can I grab to get me down there? People work there every day, and I doubt they get escorted to work by my husband.”

“Well, there was Milton’s team and the Hartwells, but you had all them arrested.” Fargo said. "Walter Perkins is there, but he's still locked in a stabilization chamber."

The door opened and Jack shoved Fargo in the elevator and waved his hand to allow Andy to hop on before him. “I think I’m just about ready to throw you and Seth together in the jail cell and sell tickets to a cage match.”

“Bring it on!” Fargo bellowed and flexed like the Hulk.

Jack got in the elevator, hit the button for the first floor and watched the elevator close. How quickly his weekend went from A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Nightmare. 

* * *

“Come on Allison, pick up.” Jack said and pushed Fargo into the Sheriff’s office while Andy escorted Seth, one bounce at a time.

“This is injustice! This is madness!” Fargo said as he was pushed into the jail cell. “I am the grease, dammit! The  _ grease _ of which Eureka turns on!”

"It's a civil rights violation to force me in the backseat of _that car_ when it's actually working right!" Seth yelled. "More so when it's totalled and falling apart!"

“Shut up for a second.” Jack said and leaned on the cell while Andy Tiggered Seth in it. Allison’s phone went to voicemail. “Hey, Allison. It’s Jack. Listen, people are acting pretty weird today and frankly, you’re acting pretty weird. Um, Nathan’s gone into hiding in Section 5 and I’m worried about that considering the end of the world stuff usually gets stored there. Maybe you can fill me in on what you talked about last night, uh, about Kevin because I’d love to discuss his drawing. Nathan was super proud of it! Put it on his fridge! Love to find out how you feel about it; I saw some Tolkien influence and Nathan saw some Old Testament. Truly a masterpiece in crayon. Maybe I can take a look at the real one in Kevin’s room? Perhaps, uh, talk to the artist himself and get an autographed copy? Anyhow, let me know. I really want to get together and sort this all out before it gets worse. Ok? Call me, please. And please don’t quit!”

Andy bounced back as Seth and Fargo started slapping each other. “Oh boy, this is going to get difficult to break up with just one leg. Can I borrow a taser or a whip?”

“I’ll kill you!” Fargo yelled and slapped at Seth.

“Not if I kill you first!” Seth put his hand on Fargo’s head and shoved him back against the wall.

Jack rolled his eyes. He noticed that Jo was sitting at her desk, sipping her fluffy coffee concoction while reading her ‘Military Ma’am’ magazine. Totally oblivious to everything, he didn't even see her sitting there when he came in. “Jo? Separate them. Please?”

Jo looked up as she sucked whipped cream through the straw and surveyed the situation. She smiled as she got in her desk drawer and pulled out a neon green gun, put her drink down and jumped into action.

“No! No guns!” Jack said, all too late. By then she already was pumping and pulling the trigger. He was relieved to see it was just a water gun. Seth got blasted in the face and Fargo got hosed from the back. Then he wondered what the chances were of Jo having a water pistol, or any weapon in Eureka being filled with _just_ water. Eh, hardly his biggest issue right now. “Um, great job, Jo!”

“Thanks!” She said, giddily, and turned around with a perfect pirouette and squirted the gun at him.

Jack jumped back just in time to not get splattered. Water went all over his desk, his desk that was covered in ‘While you were out’ memos. “That’s water, right?”

“H-2-Ohhhhh” Jo said and then pointed at the memos on the desk. “Oh, the phone has been ringing off the hook! I unplugged it after we ran out of paper in the memo pad.”

Jack looked at all the memos and some of them were not even filled out with written words. She drew pictures instead of writing down the complaints. Super. She was still nuts. “Great! Good job. How about you handcuff those two to opposite sides of the cell and we talk about flowers?”

“Like flowers for  _ your wedding _ ?” Jo asked with a squeak. 

“Yeah, um…” Jack pointed at Seth as Andy pushed him back against the wall. The guy was struggling, looking like he might topple one leg Andy, so he distracted him to help out his Deputy. “What was that flower you were playing music for last night? Necromancer Violent Cheetah?”

“Necrosomium Violacea?” Seth spat, and stared at the Sheriff. How the hell could anyone be that dumb?”

Andy clipped his hand to the cell wall with his handcuffs. Then he bounced around to look at Fargo who was sneaking in for an attack. Jo blasted them both with her Super Soaker before zooming in with her handcuffs to secure Fargo.

“Oh my god! This is just like my dream!” Fargo squealed as Jo threw him against the cell and clipped handcuffs on him and then the bars. 

Jack shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. They needed to make a TV show about his life in Eureka; one of those quirky, semi-serious but still comical shows that end up getting cancelled too soon despite a huge fan following. “Speaking of dreams, I was also thinking about using that flower from the play last night, Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s the love potion flower? Puck used it to roofie Titania so she would fall in love with an ass. The ‘come and cuddle me pansy’?”

“Viola Tri-color?” Seth asked, appalled by the Sheriff’s botany butchery.

“That one.” Jack said and sat on his desk as Fargo moaned a little when Jo slammed him against the bars,again. “What do you think Jo? You’re my best man.”

“I am!?!” Jo let go of Fargo to cover her mouth and squeak in joy.

“I am so going to kill you.” Fargo hissed at the Sheriff for ruining the best moment of his life.

“Who else is my  _ best man _ ?” Jack asked. Really, thinking about it, he didn’t have a lot of friends he could say he would want to ask to take up that position on his wedding day. “My best Deputy and my best normal friend in town. Who loves National League baseball and police procedure. My partner.”

Jo jumped up and down. “Oh my God! I get to be  _ in your wedding _ !?”

“As long as the world doesn’t end this weekend.” Jack said and sighed. “Or my husband doesn’t blow up God in order to save me from my dirty job.”

“Yes!” Jo high-fived Andy and knocked him over. “So what are our choices?”

“Well, one is a natural alternative to anesthesia and the other an anti-inflammatory .” Seth said. "Nothing says honeymoon, quite like that! Especially if Stark is really hung like a horse."

“What do they look like?” Jo leapt over Andy’s body and went over to the man handcuffed to the other side of the cell. "The flowers?" 

“Huge purple flower that blooms at night or small white and purple, blue, yellow flowers that bloom during the day.” Seth answered.

”Oh purple theme or blue. Or both.” Jo said and gasped. “Royalty and loyalty blooming together, yellow like the sun..rising up with bright and warm feelings for the future!” 

“Seth?” Jack asked as he walked over to the open jail cell and contemplated just closing the door and locking them all in there. Andy rolled around on the ground, trying to get on his belly to get back up, but Jo kept jumping around. Apparently when she was excited she went back to Dancer Jo and this scene could have been part of a Disney Musical if Putnam were around. God, he hoped Eureka didn’t have a musical episode, he hated to sing and it was looking like Nathan was always going to be in his pretty concrete tower of doom during the majority of the science snafus to be able to belt out 'Africa' like the rockstar he was. “Tell me more about the plants in your garden? Do you have to serenade them with classical music or do they just bloom on their own?”

“No! The Pansy is the one we want!” Jo leaped over to him and grabbed his shirt. “It’s a mixture of both of you! Purple for Nathan because he’s so regal and sophisticated and expensive. And blue for you because you have such beautiful eyes and it would really bring out that color. Blue is also, according to the magazines I read, symbolic of being trustworthy and peaceful. If we go with a darker shade, it’s strength and reliability. So you should go with a light blue vest and tie for the wedding and a dark blue thong for him to take comfort in later.”

“I’m not wearing a thong.” Jack said and looked to Seth. “So about your flower…”

“And the yellow.” Jo clapped excitedly. “Ties everything up in a perfect bow of optimism and positivity. You can’t just have one color flower! I won’t allow it. You're so different and so dynamic, yet so perfect and beautiful together.”

“If I’m going to make it to my wedding at all, I need to find out why everyone is being super honest today.” Jack reminded her. 

“You really think my plant is causing this?” Seth scoffed. “You really are an idiot. Maybe you should worry less about what color flowers you need for your wedding and start looking for what enhances your brain cells so Stark doesn’t dump your ass for boring him. Nice ass only gets you so far around here, brains are what matters.”

“Great advice, thanks.” Jack said dryly and Jo squirted the guy in the chest for him. Cool. She had his back. 

“I would also reconsider the thong option, if we’re being honest.” Seth said and nodded appreciatively as he looked over the Sheriff’s posterior. 

“What does your flower do, Seth?” Jack asked, not wanting to dwell on why everyone nodded in approval at that comment. Even Andy gave him a thumbs up. 

“It’s a sedative.” Seth explained and looked around. “Do you see anyone sleeping?”

“No.” Jack said as he realized that it probably ruled out the flowers causing this. “Ok, I have to go find Allison and get Nathan out of GD. I need my scientist.”

“Awww.” Jo said and pointed at the door. “I saw her go into Cafe Diem when I was getting coffee. Go get your man, Jack Carter.”

“Thanks.” Jack said and pet her on the head as Andy did a push up to help himself jump back up on his one leg. “Andy, maybe you can go through all the complaints on my desk, and figure out some kind of theme? Like the common complaint?”

“Can do, boss.”

“And plug the phone back in and let people call us to tell us what’s wrong.” Jack asked Jo and she frowned so he gave her a different task to keep her in the office. “Or pick out the color theme for my wedding while you watch the prisoners with your squirt gun and let Andy do all the official police work.”

“YES!” Jo said, jumped up and gave him a peck on the cheek and skipped over to the file cabinet. Then she opened a drawer, yanked it out of the cabinet completely and let all the magazines inside spill to the ground. “I’ve been saving these for just this occasion!”

Jack looked at the pile of wedding magazines as she sat down in the pile and started looking through them. That was a lot of magazines. “Super. I’ll go talk to Allison then. Be back soon.”


	141. Roses Have Thorns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo-Hoo! We passed 300k words!

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 141

**Roses have Thorns**

* * *

“And I quit!” Allison said with a relieved laugh. “And it was like a heavy weight was lifted. Like I was breathing for the first time _ in years. _ ”

Beverly looked down at her perfectly prepared Salmon Special and then to the fork poised above her plate. It mocked her as it held that very first bite of delicious fish she was aching to taste and savor . She opted to seize the moment, take advantage of the lull in one-way conversation that she didn’t initiate, and bent forward to lift it to her mouth when Allison started up again and ruined her brief moment of peace.

“It was terrifying and liberating at the same time.” Allison grinned ear to ear and talked with her hands. “Like _ anything _ was possible.”

Beverly looked at her flaky fish meal and realized she probably wasn’t going to have a chance to eat it without interruption. Now she had to decide to eat and ignore Allison, or to wait and savor. It would only be the perfect temperature for consumption for a brief time. What to do?

“Now I’m free of my job and all that pressure and stress, not to mention I’m free of Nathan’s criticisms about our past. So, what do you think?”

Beverly put her fork down and leaned back in her seat. “I think I lost my appetite.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Allison apologized with a grin. “This is the first time I’ve done this for something happy and it feels like a good place to start.”

“Yes, because most therapists like to work on their lunch break.” Beverly said loudly to ward off any other clients from lining up to bother her and looked up to see Abby Carter at the counter having her meal with a side of gossip from Vincent. The other shrink turned around to give her a salute of understanding with a raise of her sweet tea and Beverly raised her glass of water to show her solidarity. Amen, sister. It never ends.

“I’m sorry.” Allison said, curtly, annoyed Beverly was not giving her the kind reception she expected. “I thought you were supposed to be gentle and supportive?”

“Frankly, that’s getting old.” Beverly said and put her glass down hard on the table so it spilled.

“Okay.” Allison said, cautiously, and sipped her tea. 

“Every day you people come to me and bare your souls, hoping I’ll tell you what to do.” Beverly said and shook her head, taking her napkin off her lap and throwing it on the table. “But that’s not what you’re really looking for.”

“It isn’t?”

“No!” Beverly said. “You already know what you should do. You’re just looking for permission to do what you want.”

“I guess I can see how that would get tiring.” Allison looked into her tea to think about that. She didn’t recall ever sitting on the couch at Beverly’s and doing anything but yell. 

“Yeah, everybody spills their guts to me, but who do I get to talk to?” Beverly said with a huff. This town was a wealth of information and drama, but she was so tired of sacrificing her life to further the cause for the Consortium. She wanted to live a little, and not just amuse herself by manipulating politicians with small dicks and huge egos between the sheets. No, truth be told, she wished she had someone look at her the way Nathan Stark looked at Jack Carter. 

“I never thought of it that way.” Allison said and looked around. Clearly this was about  _ them _ , the people of Eureka. The scientists who were good at work but bad at people. 

“Of course not.” Beverly threw her hands up. “Because you’re all too narcissistic to consider that no one really gives a crap about your problems, which really aren’t problems at all. I mean, come on. ‘I’m Allison Blake, I’m torn up with jealousy because my gorgeous, brilliant, formerly emotionally-unavailable, ex-husband is unabashedly in love with the gorgeous, charming, but immature Sheriff. Oh, what should I do? This isn’t about me? Boo-hoo.”

Allison stared at her.  _ What? _ This was about _her_?!?

“You know what you do? _Nothing._ Because you had your chance and you drove Nathan right out of your bed, your house and out of town and right into the arms of a man who somehow has none of the problems you had. You came to me to bitch about your husband and throw him under the bus! I try to poke at anything about either one of them in a session, they protect each other! You only wanted him to give to you and Jack wants to share everything with him. Good for Nathan for leaving.”

“But…”

“Oh sure, Nathan’s tried to change Jack’s job without telling him. Surprise, surprise! Who do you think got you  _ your _ job? I’ll give you a hint, he’s 6’4”, commanding and has no qualms about abusing his job privileges to make his spouse happy.”

“I got my job on my own merits.”

“As a  _ former _ medical doctor?” Beverly asked. “Who stopped being a doctor so she could spend all her time doing research looking for a way to cure autism? Someone whose only research was in _space medicine_? You think Eureka wanted you? You are here because you wanted to derail someone else's research so it served your purpose and Nathan took up your cause with you. The same man who married you and brought you to Eureka, where you had the wealth of knowledge and equipment handed to you but you turned down a researcher position so you could make him do your research for you. The man who recognized you would need a job to keep you in place so he pushed for a D.o.D liaison position that didn’t exist prior to you, so you could be in a position of power without being under his command? Yeah. Tell me about your merits other than being Nathan Stark’s  _ type _ ?”

Allison stared at her. 

“You’re a grown up Allison, you need to stop expecting people to just hand you what you want because you’re smart and beautiful and know how to manage alpha personalities. By manage, I mean manipulate. So quit your job, I’m sure it’s liberating to let go of the position that was specifically created for you by your husband. God knows what you’re going to do that will make you happy if the job he made for you couldn’t ”

“I...never knew that.”

“You knew something was done in your favor and you didn’t ask. Not knowing and not caring are two separate things.” Beverly said.

“I never asked Nathan...”

“Anything.” Beverly countered. “Except to fix your son and to come home to treat you like a queen. I could have saved myself so much time if I just laid it out for you in the first marriage counseling session you came to: you always loved the way you looked together and how people looked at you, more than you loved him. You two are such a mess and it’s amazing you lasted as long as you did. You both love the fight, you found passion in your relationship by fighting. You couldn’t win on a level playing field with him, so you pulled illegal punches and always made it personal. He gave you everything he could and put himself at risk to do so, how can you blame him for leaving? Don’t even get me started about Warren King. God, could you be any more shallow as to cheat on your husband with the man who wanted his job just to get attention?”

Allison sat there with her mouth open.

“I really have lost my appetite. Help yourself.” Beverly said , shoved her plate towards Allison, then got up and left.

* * *

“Passed out?” Jack asked as he banged his head against the wall. He told Andy to turn on the phones and of course they started ringing instantly. _Of course_ he picked it up. _Of course_ that meant he was ten minutes into taking calls and those ten minutes were lost finding Allison to get Nathan out of Section 5. “Are you sure you didn’t have a few too many?”

Jo filled her water pistol with more water and gave the boys in the cell a wicked grin, daring them to act up. 

“No, no, I believe you. I’ll just...I’ll be in touch.” Jack hung up and the phone started ringing again, immediately. He threw up his hands and backed away. Not again. Not another call.

“That’s 10 calls in 10 minutes! New record!” Andy said happily and then the phone rang again, so he answered it. “Sheriff’s Department!”

“I’m going to try and find Allison and see if I can convince her not to quit today.” Jack said. 

“I told you Allison was at Cafe Diem.” Jo said and squirted Fargo and Seth with a water gun, just because. “You should have seen her car when you came in, you’re the Marshall who tracks people down.”

“It was a re-statement of my mission to get me out of here.” Jack said and then felt like he was getting a critical eye from his Deputy who wasn’t doing anything but playing with water guns, so he offered his excuse, “I was busy yelling at Fargo when I drove into town. Busy yelling at him about taking the term ‘little swimmers’ too seriously and making fish out of Nathan’s sperm.”

“There’s a salmon special today! I saw the sign on the sidewalk.” Andy said, covering the receiver of the phone. “Lovely pink flesh! Fabulous full flavor, firm-texture, succulent meat.”

“I know what salmon is Andy. Thanks.” Jack shook his head. Nathan’s science sample sperm were going to end up spawning Salmon hybrids thanks to the Saturday special. He could just hear Taggart reading the menu and thinking about firm flesh, succulent meat and picturing Nathan cutting through the waters of Lake Archimedes and decide that a King Salmon might just have to be Fudgey II. “I’m going to go talk to her. We have to fix this _now_.”

“We’ll hold down the fort!” Jo said and blasted Fargo in the face again.

“Excuse me! Police emergency!” Jack ran for the door, pushing past a few people coming in who started yelling at him for making them come in to report their problems instead of answering his phone. Same complaints he heard on the phone: people were complaining about falling asleep and waking up wherever they ‘fell’ asleep last night. So maybe Nathan didn’t work himself into exhaustion and fall asleep at the wheel. Maybe Seth’s plant really did cause problems. _Maybe_ he could have Nathan tell him it really was the problem and how to fix it when he said those three little words he loved to hear: ‘You were right’. 

Jack made it outside, but only because he kept shoving through the mob. He saw a fight break out and thought about separating the Baker twins but he told himself that siblings fought and that could just be something normal. He made it to Cafe Diem and opened the door, scanned the room and saw that Allison and Abby were sitting in a booth  _ together.  _ Not even the end of the world was going to make him walk into  _ that _ , when they were both on some magic potion that made them tell the truth. So he looked around to see who else he could grab for help and saw Henry. Thank God! “Henry!”

Henry looked over his shoulder at him and rolled his eyes. “What do  _ you  _ want?”

“Look, things are getting a little crazy around here and I need to pick your brain.”

“You and everybody else.” Henry took a swig from his flask.

“I don’t follow.” Jack said. Was there someone else asking questions? Was someone else still sane and trying to fix this!?

“Of course you wouldn't.” Henry looked up at him and said. “Not that it’s exclusively you, because you’re dumb, but because everyone is too lazy to think!”

“I’m dumb.” Jack said, hoping he'd tell him people came looking for help with the truth serum. “Please explain it to me.”

“I mean, all anyone does around here is feed on me. Global Dynamics. The D.O.D. _You_. I’m intellectual carrion.”

“Not you too.” Jack said and sat down next to him, giving up the last bit of hope that someone else in town was still normal. Well, other than the 'norms', the Carters. “Nathan was saying the same thing about doing everything himself and then proceeded to leave and go do everything himself. I need help.”

“With him? Good luck!” Henry said. “He’s so sold on the ideology of Eureka that he’ll run himself into the ground just to keep the wheels moving and the fuel of money coming in. A waste of a good mind. Selling out to the military so he can keep the lights on.”

“He’s trying…” Jack tried to defend his husband but Henry kept rambling.

“It’s all about producing, getting ahead of everyone else. That’s not what I signed up for. He thrives on it because it feeds his need to be the most valuable asset in science. His pride, to be the best and show everyone how much they need him to run it, fix it and make it. God, where the hell did he go so wrong?”

Jack watched him take another drink and smelled the distinct smell of Scotch. Probably where Nathan got his taste for the stuff from, the guy who was his idol. “A little early in the morning for Scotch, don’t you think?”

“No.” Henry snapped.

Jack couldn’t say he disagreed with him. He wouldn’t mind a beer right now.

“I came to Eureka to create without restriction or agenda, to make the world a better place, you know like the new cell tower but eventually it all gets digested by the machine and re-tasked and turned into something very, very unappetizing.”

Jack nodded and looked around. Everyone was on their cell phones. Sitting next to Henry made him remember what other new thing had happened today that might have been able to affect everyone: the cell tower. “Henry, I need you to focus on me, just for a second.”

“You need something from me?” Henry asked and then yelled. “There’s a shocker!”

Jack watched him empty his flask and then throw it across the counter. Maybe he should just come back when Henry was drunker. 

“Refill!” Henry yelled.

That got Vince to stare daggers at them and Jack opted to get up and leave before staring daggers turned to throwing kitchen knives. “Ok, I’ll be back. Gotta work on a lead.”

“On your own?” Henry laughed. “I guess I’ll be seeing you again in a little while when it doesn’t pan out. Always running around sniffing out clues, never stopping to think and make your work more efficient. What a waste of energy.”

“You bet! So don’t go anywhere!” Jack got up and left, briskly heading to the door to ignore both Abby and Allison focusing on him and the inevitable combo attack. He opened the door and almost ran into Jo. “What’s wrong?”

“We keep getting tons of calls about people passing out. The phone is ringing and annoying me.” Jo whined.

“Cool.” Jack said and looked around at everyone on the street. All on their cell phones. 

“I need to know.” Jo begged. “Is this an indoor or outdoor wedding?”

“You’re going to have to ask Nathan.” Jack said and she frowned.  _ That  _ might not be such a bad way to go. “You  _ should _ ask Nathan! But he’s in Section 5, no cell service. Think you can break in and get down there with your super special forces ninja skills?”

“I’m dying to try!” Jo grinned then hung her head, expression going to sullen.. “But I’ll probably die. It’s really heavily fortified and secure. I don’t want to miss the wedding.”

“OK, nix that plan. I’m going to go shut off the cell phone tower, keep your two-way radio with you and let me know if it changes anything around here.” Jack said and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm counting on you."

Jo perked up, saluted him and said, “You bet, Chief!”

“Don’t call me that.” Jack said and left her side to run across the street and get in his Jeep. He looked over his shoulder as Jo went into Cafe Diem and hoped he wouldn’t regret leaving her here in town.


	142. Cellular Degeneration

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 142

**Cellular Degeneration**

* * *

He did regret leaving Jo in town, rather quickly, because it was her job to deal with naked Taggart and not him. Yet here he was, standing next to the nude Aussie and looking at a giant cell phone tower that was erected sometime yesterday. OK, make erect wasn’t the best word to use right now. 

“The Devil’s Plaything.” Taggart said through gritted teeth.

Jack winced and shook his head. Yup. Of course Taggart could make the situation worse even if he was staring at the cell tower and referring to it. Hopefully. But why was he _turned on_? “Taggart? You’re naked.”

“Au Naturale.” Taggart whispered without taking his eyes away from the tower.

“May I ask why?” Jack put his hands in his pockets and waited for an explanation. Was it whatever Jo did to him last night? Was this his regular routine? Why did he pee on his tent this morning like a territorial dog? Was he affected by the fumes of scientific progress as the cogs of Eureka continued to turn without it’s grease? Was..it him? Because Seth seemed to have an opinion about his ass in a thong and that wasn't some weird comment brought on by drugs.

“Why not?” Taggart responded.

“Unfortunately that doesn’t tell me if you’re affected or not.” Jack sighed. At least he wasn’t mad at him. Jo and Taggart we having the opposite reaction as everyone else, kinda flirty and turned on, versus everyone else who was downright pissed. Well Nathan too, but that wasn't so abnormal. So...what did that tell him? Other than maybe he was attractive to the military types and Nathan wanted more than just brainpower? Why was he worrying about this? It didn't help.

“Why do we find it impossible to live in harmony with nature?” Taggart asked.

Jack shrugged. Honesty hour with Taggart was going to be some spiritual level stuff. Kinda felt like talking to his sister: drugs most definitely involved, non-sense about nature and asking why the hell she was naked under he bleachers again with that kid from the softball team. “Well, I think when you  _ make nature  _ by enhancing it with my husband’s sperm, it’s really kinda asking for a lack of harmony. Unless you are going for musical harmony, then I guess it does improve things a bit.”

“I mean, look at it.” Taggart said and pointed to the cell tower. 

“Oh!” Jack said as he turned to look at the cell tower. “I thought we were talking about Fudgey. Yeah, the tower isn’t my favorite thing at the moment either. Nathan might be on a Lord of The Rings kick right now and I think it’s causing people in town to unnaturally tell the truth.” 

“All function, no form.”

“Dysfunction.” Jack offered. “Wanna help me take it down?”

“With pleasure.” Taggart grinned and bent down into the brush.

Oddly, that word did not make his skin crawl when Taggart said it. He wondered, for a brief second, why the other man was bending over into the tall grass and showing his ass...but then he started up a serious looking circular saw and Jack wondered if that was the same saw he had in his lab to autopsy Fudgey.

“So Quixote turns, standing in a field of men at the foot of giants and says aloud, “No more”.” Taggart grinned and focused on the tower. “Let’s tilt that windmill shall we?”

Jack watched him charge the cell tower, saw revving and some god awful sounding battle cry coming from his lips. “I definitely should have brought Jo.”

Taggart raised the saw over his head and screeched, then started to cut into metal with it to allow the screech of his weapon to take over.

“I was thinking more along the lines of an off switch, but not going to complain.” Jack yelled to the man who couldn't hear him and turned to go back to his Jeep. Since he was so close to home he decided to check in on Zoe and tell her about the possible loss of cell phone transitions and how it might be what was causing all the problems. He got to the Jeep and leaned on it. Or maybe...it wasn’t? Zoe had taken a few phone calls from her Mom and was a teenager for God’s sake, there was no way she was going to _not_ be on the phone while locked in the house all day. He turned to look at the tower as sparks flew from Taggart’s multi-purpose portable saw and genuinely hoped he wasn’t wrong about this. He had nothing else to go on and nobody to turn to for help. Other than Zoe. 

Zoe, who was a recently certified genius. 

Jack got in his Jeep and started driving back to the bunker, hoping that his kid was not mad at him and was able to help. Abby was delivering truths as fast as she could speak and there was teh uncertainty of whether or no the mystery science thing got to her. He probably would have both Allison and Abby coming after him soon if those two were still at Cafe Diem talking and there was no way Allison would help him get into Section 5.  So, who else was there? Jo could’t commando her way past security. Allison wouldn't use her security clearance. Fargo already rattled off a list of people who either didn’t have clearance anymore or didn’t like him enough to help. He could play the Kevin card and force Allison’s hand that way, she’d override any and all grievances to protect her son, but he wasn’t quite at that level of emergency yet. However, that made him think about what was at the core of this all: The Artifact.

And who else did he know that was on the Artifact team that got called into GD last night because of Kevin’s fanart? Kim. If she was in the super secure part of GD there was a chance she didn’t use her phone because there was no reception and it wasn’t allowed. There was a chance she was there all night and didn’t fall asleep because of Seth’s Little Shop of Horrors plant. There was a chance she was still sane.

Or not. She did look at Kevin’s drawing and think there was valid reason for concern. Or maybe she was just humoring Nathan. Well, he’d put that in the ‘Things to ask Henry’ column for when he went back to town to check on everyone. Henry might start thinking clearer if he brought Kim into the conversation. 

Jack parked the Jeep and trotted to the bunker door, down the stairs and hollered, “S.A.R.A.H., door!” just in time to hit the bottom landing and have the door open. He walked in the bunker, the door hissed shut behind him and he turned to look at it, the sound triggering a new idea. The bunker was hermetically sealed. Could that be why Zoe was unaffected by all this? If so….that didn’t explain him. He didn’t sleep here last night. Dammit!

“So when were you going to tell me?” Zoe asked, outraged, as she came out of the kitchen with her phone in her hand. 

Jack braced himself. _Oh no_ , she was pissed at him too! It got her! The bunker had nothing to do with it! Everyone was crazy but him! “I came here to tell you I took the tower down. Or Taggart did.”

“What?” She asked. “I was talking about keeping me in Eureka for a semester and then shipping me back to L.A.”

“What?” Jack said, confused about the information being spit at him. Information that could have only come from Abby. Abby who was in super share mode right now. “Oh, Zoe I…”

“What is all of this, father-daughter bonding and ‘we’re partners today’ bullshit if you’re just going to lie to me about even wanting me to be in Eureka with you!” Zoe yelled. 

“Zoe, I was going to tell you.” Jack plead.

“When?” She demanded. “Before or after you walked down the aisle again?”

“Ok, that’s not fair.” Jack said. “You know damned well that Nathan and I want you in our lives.”

“I don’t know what to believe!”

“Believe that custody battles aren’t easy and convincing your Mom to let you stay here with me isn’t an easy negotiation!” Jack said and put his hands on his hips. “I haven’t been a good father, I have no ground to stand on where you’re concerned. Your Mom has to allow you to stay here. She has to see it’s the best option for you. So yeah, I made a deal that you’d stay here for a semester hoping you’d prove to her that it was the best because she doesn’t believe _in me_.”

“You should have told me.” Zoe said, calming down a little. That was the truth. 

“And ruin this? Have that hanging over your head when none of your parents' problems should have _ever_ made you worry? Your course load is intense, you need to determine if you really want this. Why would I lay that knowledge on you, I took away enough of your childhood and I don’t want to rob you of this. So, yeah, I didn’t tell you. You shouldn't have another deadline, not one that's about where you're going to live.”

“That stops, now.” She said. “I can’t trust you if you do stuff like this.”

“I can’t make that promise, Zoe. You’re my kid, and I need to be your Dad. There are some things, I still get to make the call on. You’re 15.”

“That’s not fair.”

“It’s not supposed to be.” Jack said. “If it’s something we can discuss, I will talk to you. But, when it comes down to which parent you live with...hell, it’s not even my choice.”

“That sucks.”

“It does.” Jack agreed. “So, maybe you can help me save the town and get your Mom back to normal so you can make your case _to her_?”

“Fine.” She said. “So you shut off the cell phones?” 

“Taggart’s working on it.” Jack said and pointed to hers. “Wouldn’t hurt to turn yours off, just in case.”

“I already did after Mom called. I couldn't take anymore. She needs therapy.” She said and walked back over to the couch. “I also did some research into the plants. I don’t think the Viola Tri-Color is responsible for this, no matter how warped Eureka could make it." 

Jack went over to the couch with her and looked at her computer. “Seth said his Necrosonium Violacea is a natural option for anesthesia and the Viola Tri-Color is an anti-inflammatory. So maybe Seth’s flower was what put everyone to sleep last night, tons of complaints about people passing out and waking up where they fell. He didn’t say anything about the Tri-Color, but Jo picked it out as the flower for my wedding.”

“Aww.” Zoe said. “It’s actually kinda appropriate.”

“Because this is my Midsummer Night’s Dream and if I come out of the woods alive I might be able to marry the love of my life?”

“No, I was going for the color symbolism, but kinda proud of you for becoming the literary critic you’re turning out to be.”

“Thanks. It’s all just a _huge_ coincidence that I have a hard time overlooking. Especially since Kevin picked the play and now he’s doing arts and crafts that look like ‘visions of the future’ to Nathan. Sane Nathan, not crazy Nathan.” Jack sat down on the end of the couch. “I hope the cell phone tower was what was doing this. Shooting crazy honesty beams into people’s minds. Instead of an alien invasion, this time, they are worked up over 'A Midsummer Night's Invasion'.”

“Get out the tin foil hats.” Zoe said and opened up a new browser tab. “I guess I’m going to start researching the effects of cell phone towers on the brain.”

“If everyone passed out because of the flower, would that make them more susceptible to receiving the waves of wi-fi?” Jack asked. 

“RF waves from cell towers affecting human brains does come up with a bunch of search results, but it’s going to take me a while to sort through all the crazy 'cell towers devalue my website' websites and the real medical research.” Zoe said and leaned back on the couch. “Cell phones emit radio frequency radiation, or radio waves, but they’re non-ionizing. They’re electromagnetic waves but they can’t break chemical bonds in the human body like ionizing ones can. It's a stretch, Dad. Even if it's somehow amplified with Eureka's EM field or a brand new cell tower.”

“What if the person is under anesthesia?” Jack asked. “Does that make them more susceptible or alter the brain’s state enough to cause...something?”

“Anesthesia works on the brain’s receptors, but I really don’t know much about it. I’ve only been in smart kid school for two weeks.” Zoe said and began typing and quickly found a medical journal article to read. Her Dad waited as she browsed it. “According to this study about general anesthesia, ‘ The long-lasting effects including cellular signaling changes and their impact after anesthetic exposure are enormous’. A natural alternative, especially experimental, could make some unknown changes to brain chemistry. Plants don't just have one chemical."

“Which means, the flower could have opened up people’s minds to being blasted with a radiation thing from the tower and caused changes in how they think?” Jack asked and he was genuinely asking if that was how things worked. He sounded like his sister.

“Dad, this is beyond my understanding. You either need a medical doctor or someone who understands neuroscience.” Zoe explained.

“So Allison or Nathan, both who are crazy.” Jack clarified and drummed his thighs with his hands. Brain science and radiation, he really needed Nathan. To get to Nathan, he needed Kim. To get to Kim, he needed Henry. “OK, I gotta go back to town.”

“Be careful.” She said. “I’ll see what I can come up with but this is really not something I’ll get into this semester. Maybe next?"

Jack smiled at her and bent over to kiss her head. “Yes, kid, I’ll fight for you. You know I will. You’ll get your GD internship based on your research for ‘cellphone tower, flower power, honesty hour’ and not because your Step-Dad is the boss of the place who plans to fire a bunch of people next week.”

“I appreciate your faith in me, but I was being serious.” She took a deep breath and decided to get into teaching herself neuroscience and opened up the Eureka Library’s resource page. “Oh look, a ton of papers by none other than Dr. Nathan Stark.”

“Of course, he does everything.” Jack sighed. “Including sign off on the new cell phone tower down the road and insist it get installed ASAP.”

“So a rushed project, by the guy who  _ loves radiation _ , and used to do a ton of research in the field of neuroscience?” Zoe raised her eyebrows. 

“Yes.” Jack said. “He’s probably responsible and now he’s trying to stop Kevin’s picture from becoming a reality.”

“What picture?” Zoe asked.

“He thinks it’s of me dying and God mocking him, I think Kev drew that scene in Lord of the Rings where the Sean Bean character dies.” Jack offered as an explanation. He really should go talk to Kevin. He really hoped this wasn't a way for the medical doctor and neuroscience parents to communicate with their autistic son. Seemed more plausible than the Eye of Sauron sending mental memos to the boy via brain waves. Uh, some days he hated the way this place made him think.

Zoe had to laugh. Those two were so different it was funny. “So, no more Africa quotes? We’re transitioning to Lord of the Rings this week?”

“Well, I gotta focus on the return of my king.” Jack said and stood up and couldn’t resist a smile and a glance at her. “But one does not simply walk in to Section 5.”

“Oh, I am so ready for this.” She said and went back to opening up Nathan’s old research papers to see if she could get some answers for them. “I’ll keep you updated, but you need to seriously spoil the hell out of me for doing some hardcore homework on a Saturday.”

“I’m not buying you a car.” He said, knowing his daughter all too well.

“I’m not reading _your_ research papers.” She said and smiled at him. “You’re not the Dad I had wrapped around my finger before I took an interest in his pet projects.”

Jack held up his ring finger. “He’s wrapped around _mine_ first and I say, no car.”

“We’ll see.” She said and sighed as she clicked on a paper whose title was exhausting to read as it was nothing but academic jargon. Knowing Nathan, she assumed the entire paper would be riddled with it. Super. Maybe it would cost her less to just get a job and buy her own car. 

“Yeah, you think you know Nathan?” Jack said as he saw the textual garbage that was the title of his paper. “You haven’t seen academic asshole Nathan yet. You make it through those, we’ll talk.”

“Deal.” She said and blinked a few times to try and focus on the words and made sense of them. Oh, she was in for a really shitty day off.


	143. Dial Tone

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 143

**Dial Tone**

* * *

  
  


Jack drove back into town, slowly. It looked like the mob dispersed but it also looked like the trash disaster left over from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Papers were blowing all over Main Street and it was quiet, but at what price? He parked the Jeep in his spot and got out, took a deep breath and went into his office. 

What he saw explained why the streets were empty. People were zip tied to the desk and coat rack. Handcuffs, as many as they had in reserve which was too many, keeping people chained to cell bars, the closet and the radiator. Someone was cocooned in rope and an anchor, never mind where that came from. Jo had taken her uniform shirt off and tied up someone to the desk, and someone was tied to his with the phone cord. 

“Welcome back, Boss!” Andy smiled at him.

Jo turned to him and demanded. “Where have you been?”

“I think I took care of our problem, or rather Taggart did.” Jack said as he cautiously walked in the room and stepped over the guy wrapped in dock line. 

“Really?” Jo asked. “Because it sure doesn’t look like it!”

Ok, so now Jo was getting testy with him. The cell tower was down when he drove past it, things should be going back to normal. Taggart had vanished with the wind, and his power saw, perhaps he should have asked him to come help at the station? To keep Jo happy? To keep an eye on him? Wait. Was that a dog collar on someone with Lo Jack holding the leash? What the fuck. “Well, maybe there is a delayed response?”

Jo went over to him and took his baton off his belt and raised it up to hit the creepier of the Baker twins only to have Carter take it back.

“That’s mine.” Jack smiled. “Where’s your water pistol?”

She pouted and looked over at the sink where someone was tied to the p-trap with an extra utility belt. “That one kicks me when I try to refill it.”

“OK.” Jack looked around. “Did you confiscate all their cell phones and PDAs?”

“I did. When I arrested them. They’re in the freezer.” She said and crossed her arms and looked over at Andy. “Because someone can’t take people into custody with one leg.”

“I’m sorry, Deputy Lupo, I put in a request for reasonable accommodation.” Andy said and continued to hug the person he was trying to stop from beating up Larry Haberman since they ran out restraints. 

“When we get Nathan back to normal I’m sure he’ll get you a new leg.” Jack said and looked around at everyone. Fargo looked like a rabbit dog, like one of those small dogs that looked puntable but you knew it could chew through your abdomen and eat your organs from the inside if you let it get too close. “Why do they seem _worse_?”

“Hello!?” Jo said and stomped her foot. “That’s what I’m asking you.”

“Aww, hell.” Jack said and grabbed his two-way radio. “Hey, Zoe, looks like the cell tower wasn’t the right answer.”

_ “Well, if it is altered brain chemistry it doesn’t exactly reverse things if you shut the thing off. We have to restore chemical levels to norm. I’d be more helpful if your husband wasn’t such an arrogant ass and wasn't using made up words to code his research papers. S.A.R.A.H. had to help me read this by creating a program to translate it into English and it still is pompous and annoying. Why is he like this?” _

“Honey, they’re all like that. You’re going to be like that when you write your doctoral dissertation and become one of them.” Jack said and shook his head. “So, where does that leave us? People are getting worse. It’s like the circus has moved inside, but I can’t keep these people locked up to things forever.”

“ _ This is going to take me time to learn and read. Nothing is standing out as the ‘ahha’ reason this is happening. I’d need to know what else that cell tower does and why it’s better than normal cell towers in order to focus in on what happened. Even then, I’m just a student. I’m not a GD scientist who can come up with a solution to fix people’s brains. _ ”

“So, I have to reach Henry. He’s my only shot. I’ll let you know how that goes. Over.” Jack said as he walked to the door.

“Oh, so you say ‘over’ for her.” Jo said with a glare.

“Boss! He’s still in Cafe Diem. He was drunk so he was the most harmless one in there, so I left him.” Andy offered. “Well physically harmless, he hurt feelings I didn’t know I had.”

“Thanks.” Jack said and then heard, from behind him.

“Sheriff Carter. Over.” 

Jack turned and looked at Jo who was using her two way radio to call him. It was on the table with the coffee maker since she put her uniform to use tying someone up with the sleeves. He wasn’t receiving the message since he and Zoe were on a different frequency. “I’m right here, Jo.”

She looked around and tapped her foot, deliberately not looking at him. Then she looked at Andy. “Where could he be?”

Andy laughed. “Is that a sarcastic question or am I supposed to answer it? Oh...I see. You’re trying to make a point about him not using his radio to communicate with us! Oh, that is against protocol to use the Sheriff’s Department resources for personal use.”

Jack changed the frequency on his radio, “I’m listening, Deputy. You can put the radio down. Over.”

Jo dropped her radio back on the desk as Carter changed his frequency back to his special one. “So are you going to share your special BFFrequency? I’m your best man?”

“We started using the radio because I didn’t know if the cell tower was going to keep working and…” Jack narrowed his eyes at her and then looked at the radio in his hand. Maybe this was why he was immune? “OK, question time.”

“Like Jeopardy?” Andy asked.

“What the hell!” Jo said. “I don’t want to play against him! He’s a computer!”

“First question.” Jack said, ignoring her protests.. “Why does my two-way radio work in the decontamination chamber if my cell phone doesn’t?”

“Because noise is a contaminant and cell phones are electronic.” Fargo answered. “Wrong spark, go boom.”

“But not my radio?” Jack asked.

“No.” Fargo said in disgust. “That’s so old nobody at GD would even think of using it. Military requires us to allow the signal to get in and out because, you know, they’re old school and also own the place. Security also uses radios. None of us do, I assure you.”

“Ok, next question.” Jack said as Jo tried to grab his baton again to beat Fargo. “Why would cell phones cause problems, working on a radio frequency, but the two way does not?”

“You put a cell phone to your ear and it’s right next to your brain?” Jo offered.

“Because cell phones don’t actually cause brain problems.” Fargo yelled.

“Andy?” Jack asked.

“Well, perhaps it’s the range? Cell phones are long range which could be picking up interference from the EM field.” Andy hummed. "Or the frequency?"

“Or maybe because your message is broadcast to many receivers it spreads out the problem and waters the evil down!” Jo said.

“Or the radios are old and that’s why nobody would think to include them in any evil plan.” Fargo offered again.

“Your tower is on the top of the Sheriff’s office?” Seth said with a wave of his hand. “Versus the cell tower needed to bounce all communication off of the phone?” 

“Yes! All communications are recorded! Like your calls during the Jason Anderson memory wiping thing.” Jo ran to the computer. “We record the calls! Is that like a filter?”

“Jo wins.” Jack said and watched her jump up and down. Before the scientists could yell their rebuttals on why that was wrong he turned to leave. He jumped over the guy bound up in the dock line and left the building. He walked across the street, noticed newspapers blowing around about the ‘New Sheriff in Town’ and saw their engagement picture. Really, Nathan? That’s the official announcement you go with? The cover of the Eureka newspaper? Front page news? He wondered if that was pre-drug or drugged decision. He picked one up and looked at that picture of them and knew he might be able to get Nathan’s attention if he went to GD and put himself in harm’s way. Once again, last ditch effort only. This was next week's news, according to the date. Printer must have gotten pissed and thrown the papers out. Hopefully the town was still here next week. Hopefully Henry was still reachable. 

Vince shouted, “We’re closed!” as soon as Jack entered the building. 

“Henry!” Jack came back into the Cafe and noticed fewer people were in it, plates smashed and Vince taking a smoke break behind the counter. Ignored it all and went straight to Henry. “Hey, uh, need your help.”

“Surprise, surprise.” Henry was now drinking from the Scotch bottle. “Should have placed  _ that  _ bet.”

“Ok, going to ignore that and push on.” Jack said and sat down. “People seem to be ‘under the influence’, doing whatever the hell they want, like they’re drunk.”

Henry slurped Scotch out of the bottle and then swallowed and smacked his lips. “Some of us are.”

“Could it be an infection?” Jack asked. “Something like Contagious Tourettes?

  
  


“How do you get those big words to come out of that tiny, little brain?” Henry asked and then snorted. “Probably the same way you manage Nathan’s huge..”

Jack took away the bottle. “You know what? You’re a mean drunk.”

“I’m just liberated from being nice.” Henry said. “Speaking my mind instead of giving answers people want.”

“How? Doesn’t it bother you that science is happening to you and you can’t explain it?” Jack asked. “It’s spreading. It’s getting worse. How is it being transmitted? Like a virus? I’ve ruled out a few things…”

Henry snorted in amusement. “Oh, I’d love to hear how you did that.”

“That cell tower you made? I had this theory that it was responsible for the strange behavior so I had Taggart dismantle it.”

“Good for you.” Henry said, raising his bottle in a salute. It was near empty. Damn.

“Except nobody is getting better.” Jack continued.

“Probably because it wasn’t online.” Henry said and went to finish off the bottle.

“You sure?”

“I built the damned thing, Carter! I should know whether it was running or not!” Henry barked, annoyed he didn’t get to drink because Carter was questioning him. 

“Oh.” Jack said, defeated. So what the hell was it if it wasn’t the plants or the cell tower? “Why am I not affected?”

“Maybe it’s because you’re stupid?” Vince offered as he took one final drag on his cigarette and then put it out in someone’s soda. 

“Zoe’s not. She’s a genius.” Jack said. “Maybe we have some kind of immunity to whatever this is?”

“So that’s what you’re going with? Viral Honesty?” Henry asked as he finished off the remainder of the Scotch. 

Jack opened his arms and looked around the room. “Whole new meaning to going viral.”

“Well good luck figuring it out. This doctor is  _ out _ .” Henry said and put his empty bottle down on the counter and them stood up. “And out.” 

“This thing isn’t over.” Jack said as Henry looked down at him.

“No.”

“Henry, I can’t solve this alone.”

“Then you’re  _ really _ screwed.” Henry said and walked away.

“ _ Hello, everyone this is Beverly Barlow! _ ” The TV on the wall came to life, showing Beverly on her window seat, smiling and addressing the town.

“Isn’t that your PA system?” Jack asked as Henry kept walking to the door.

“I gave it to her this morning.” Henry answered and left.

“Yeah, I’m screwed.” Jack sighed.

_ “I’m cancelling therapy appointments for the foreseeable future. All this secrecy isn’t healthy and frankly, I can’t take anymore. I suggest, instead, you start talking to each other. So, before I go, I’ll give you some topics to discuss. I’ll start in Alphabetical order. Allison Blake. _ ”

Jack spun around on his stool as Beverly laughed on the TV and saw that the booth with the ex-wives was empty. “Oh crap!”

“ _ For such a beautiful woman you’d think that she would.. _ ”

Jack was out the door and running for the Jeep in an instant. Beverly was dishing out truths on the community watched TV station in a super secret town full of some really screwed up people with a lot of big secrets. That was not good! Not good at all!


	144. Truth Shaming Mankind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't get a chance to update last week!

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 144

**Truth Shaming Mankind**

* * *

Jack raced to Beverly’s, the Jeep’s sirens blaring as he sped to his destination thankful that not many people were out and about thanks to the effects of the truth serum. Or Beverly’s juicy broadcast. Or maybe already having been arrested. For whatever reason, they were fighting elsewhere and that really helped him out for once. 

He didn’t tune in to the radio version of Beverly’s gossip session because he didn’t want to know. He didn’t need to be biased about people, he didn’t need to know their dirty little secrets and he certainly didn’t want to know what was being said about him or Nathan. This was one situation where playing dumb was going to help everyone out; the one instance where nobody would be in a rush to explain things to him. 

Oh what a horrible  _ horrible _ weapon this science mistake was, if it was indeed a weapon at all. If it wasn’t already, he wondered if it would be after this accident. It would be. He knew the answer to that. Because he knew Nathan. Nathan saw a way to spin things into the favorable. And he was worried about Nathan because his mind was racing because he was trying to avoid thinking about how his husband was with his super dangerous Artifact, in an unreachable place in GD, and that nobody was sane or helpful enough to get him down there.

So he had to fix the problem first before he could save Nathan from himself. Nobody seemed to know what was causing this though. At least, nobody he had access to. Circle back around to worrying about Nathan again.

Ok Jack, calm down and do some detective work.

It wasn’t the cell tower.

It wasn’t the plants.

So what else happened recently that could cause this? The weaponized weather thing that destroyed the sex cabin? Maybe something  _ in _ the sex cabin that was released when the tornado blew it apart and then blew it all over Eureka? 

While he was on the topic of the crazy weather machine...where the hell was Pete Puhlman? He had just spent an hour of his day in the decontamination chamber that seemed to double as an interrogation room at GD and Weatherman Pete was definitely not there. Maybe he was in security? He couldn't remember where Nathan said he put him. Obviously Jo and Andy didn’t get the opportunity to go rattle his cage a bit with questioning thanks to the latest problem they woke up to. That was something to investigate later. 

Although….it was kinda convenient timing that all this happened. They uncover a possible mole in GD, suspect Beverly is also part of the conspiracy, and -boom- Eureka mayhem happens and Pete’s questioning is delayed and Beverly unleashes a new storm on town, this time in the form of truth, and leaves everyone spinning. 

Jack shook his head. None of that was his problem _ right now  _ and he needed to focus. He had to put that aside and deal with the more urgent issue: Beverly’s broadcast. He pulled up to her house and was thankful that he beat everyone here. Maybe he could get Henry’s PA system away from her before she got too far. He jumped out of the car, leaving it running and the door open, and took the steps three at a time. He swung the door open and heard her voice echoing down the hall.

“And that brings me to Walter and Susan Perkins, boy do I have a lot of dirt on these two!” Beverly said. “And quite frankly it will be a relief to get it out in the open.”

“Yeah, let’s leave it closed.” Jack said as he entered the room she was lounging in and approached her. She looked at the camera and then him.

“But I’m just getting to the good part.” She said and decided to continue with her online discussion. “Walter..”

“Yeah, I know.” Jack said and reached out and tried to grab the camera. “People are having a hard time controlling their impulses…”

Beverly tucked the camera close to her chest as he tried to grab it, then got up and started walking away from him. “ _ You _ think  _ I’m _ impulsive?”

“I’m just trying to save you from yourself.” Jack said and reached for it again only for her to turn away from him. He turned as he heard someone come in behind him, high heeled shoes clicking on the hardwood of the hallway.

“You’re a dead woman!” Allison announced as she arrived to ‘discuss’ Beverly’s open air session.

“And from her.” Jack said as he turned back to Beverly quickly enough to grab the camera as she grinned at Allison.

“I’m all yours, Princess.” Beverly said, pulled her ear piece out and threw it at Carter, then opened her arms in an invitation for Allison to come and get her.

Jack juggled the camera device and ear piece as Allison covered the gap between her and Beverly in the blink of an eye to deliver a backhanded slap to the therapist. He hissed, knowing that had to hurt but that he kinda felt she deserved it. “Look, Allison…”

“Is that all you’ve got?” Beverly asked, wiping a bit of blood from her lips. 

Jack watched as Allison advanced, throwing punches this time. Shit, she really had a mean right hook! They were making their way to the hallway as he juggled the PA camera thing and he finally gave up on preserving it by throwing it on a piece of fancy furniture. he followed the women into the hall. “Allison, you have every right to be angry, but violence is not the answer.”

“What _is_ the answer then, Jack?” Asked a voice from the foyer. “Want them to  _ talk it out _ ? 

Jack turned to look at Abby. Great! Of course she probably drove here with Allison. “Kinda? Want to help me?”

Abby walked in and crossed her arms and watched Allison and Beverly put hands on each other’s throats and start to squeeze. “Not really. I can see both their sides and want to remain impartial. Allison is right to be mad at the lack of professionalism, breach of confidentiality and a relatively biased assessment based on her therapist's obvious lust for Nathan. Beverly has a point, as this job is absolutely exhausting and people simply do not want to improve themselves! They don’t believe in psychology as a legitimate science but have no problems unloading all their issues and wasting our time. They don’t want a therapist, they want a priest! Confessing to their sins and then leaving guilt free to do the same thing over and over.”

“Abby..” Jack pleaded. He needed her help here. Three to one was not good odds. 

“Jack.” Abby said with a shake of her head and a disapproving tone. “Really? You’re going to be the one who stands here and demands they sit down and talk about their feelings and deep seated issues? Do you want to instruct them on how to pretend everything is fine when in reality you’re just always running away from the problems you create by ignoring them?”

“Abby, we’re not doing this right now.” Jack stepped in the middle of the fight and for the first time since coming here felt like he was doing real police work: breaking up a fight. If he didn't know so much about Eureka he'd think this was just people arguing, people just being people. Then he got elbowed in the face by Allison and then kicked in the shin by Beverly. “Ok, that’s enough.”

As Beverly was grabbed and shoved into the wall, Allison spun away and grabbed Jack’s gun from his holster and then fired it into the ceiling. She pointed it at Beverly as Carter paused his attempt to cuff her. “Is that the best  _ you’ve _ got?”

Abby stepped in and kicked Allison in the back of the knee, dropping her and with her, the arm that she was holding the gun with. She quickly jumped her, slammed her to the ground, knee in her back and took the gun away. “Not your best move, you don’t escalate things by pulling a gun in front of a cop’s wife.”

“Ex-wife.” Allison groaned into the floor. 

“Yeah.” Abby replied, sadly. 

“Who I thought was on my side.” Allison continued, face smashed to the floor.

“Not when you escalate things with a gun.” Abby said. 

“Are you going to lecture me about taking people hostage so I can force them to listen to me?”

“No, I do think you have some residual issues with your ex-husband and want to force him to listen to your feelings but this was purely because my ex-husband was in danger.” Abby said and looked up at Jack. “I have my priorities.”

“Thanks for that.” Jack said and tossed his handcuffs at her. 

"You're welcome." Abby said. 

“Allison, what are you doing?” Jack asked as Abby cuffed her. “You can’t get this high up in the government, have access to GD and all it’s super secret stuff, and then just quit and throw your life away over a little truth.”

“I’m doing exactly what I want for once.” Allison snapped. “She exposed my deepest secrets to the whole town!”

“So you'll shoot her?” Jack asked. 

“To be fair, I exposed everybody’s secrets.” Beverly said. “Well, up to the P’s anyway.”

“Allison, this isn’t you! This is the virus or contagious cell phone pollen that has the whole town telling the truth!” Jack said and hoped he could calm these three down. At this point they were his only hope to get access to GD. Abby was on his side, for now, and he really needed her help even if she was getting protective.

“Well, I’m not too happy with you either.” Allison said and looked up at him.

“Nor I.” Abby added.

“Me either.” Beverly chimed in.

“Well you told our daughter she was an accident and you…” Jack looked at Allison. “Need to help me get into Section 5 so I can get Nathan to fix this.”

“Amazing how he fixes everything  _ for you _ .” Allison said.

“Wait til the honeymoon is over.” Abby added.

“I don’t know, I’m betting they’ll make it through this.” Beverly said as Carter zip tied her hands together.

“Thanks.” Jack said. 

“One of you will probably die in some science mishap though.” Beverly added with a shrug.

“Ok, look. We need to stay on topic and the topic right now is what is going on with this town? Nobody is acting like themselves, they have no impulse control.  _ What _ causes that? You three are the smartest people in town right now and I need help.”

“You’re not affected.” Allison pointed out. "Maybe it's because we're smart and you're not."

Jack narrowed his eyes at her. “Zoe isn't affected and she's smart. So why are Zoe and I not affected? Why are we different?”

“You’re from L.A.?” Abby offered.

Jack pointed at her. “Yes, that definitely sets us apart, but so are you. And you’re affected.”

“Great, one more thing you have in common with our daughter and I just get pushed aside to be evil again.” Abby said.

“Well, you’re doing a bang up job of winning her over by having no filter right….now.” Jack cocked his head and licked his lips. “Filter. Ok. I have to go.”

“Imagine that.” Abby said. "Running away to work."

“First, I'm going to zip tie these two to the furniture and then you can help them talk out their issues.” Jack said and dragged Beverly into her office and zipped her to the radiator. Then he went out, grabbed Allison and uncuffed one hand to attach her to the doorknob. He took his gun back from Abby. “Second, I'm going to go home and try to save the day so our daughter can still star in her school play tonight. Are you cool with that?”

“I’m pretty sure we’re all going to talk about you.” Abby informed him.

“I’m good with that.” Jack said. “I need your help Abby, I need you to help talk some sense into them so we can fix this. To fix this I need to get into Section 5.”

“Imagine that, you’re only doing this for Nathan.” Allison chimed in.

“Are _you_ going to help me stop the truth from coming out of everyone?” Jack asked. “ _Any of you?_ You have to agree with me that this is bad.”

There was silence and then Abby folded her hands, went over to the couch and sat down. “Well, while everyone _is_ being honest I think we should get some things out in the open. Let’s start with the fact that Jack doesn’t trust you at all, Beverly.”

Jack groaned. Oh, this was the worst day yet. How did he salvage this? “Well, I don’t like therapy.”

“Oh, tell me more about what problems you have with me.” Beverly said smugly.

Jack looked at her and before Abby could answer he said, “You tried to coax me into talking with you when we first met by trying to seduce me. Then you listened in on a private phone call with Abby to get information about me. Yeah, I don’t trust you.” Sure that wasn’t all of it, but it sure did get the offended reaction he wanted out of Abby.

“Well, maybe we should start with talking about your ethics, Beverly.” Abby said, coldly.

Jack left, that discussion would take hours. He had been on the receiving end of that lecture before and knew there were no right answers and only more questions. That would keep them off any topics of Beverly’s possible betrayal of Eureka and America. One thing was for certain, once Abby got on the topic of her profession there was going to be no derailing her, even if there was some kind of truth virus going around.

So it was back to the bunker for a dose of sanity and hopefully a helping of information that could lead him to the real source of the problem today. 


	145. Ready. Aim. Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a struggle to find the time to write recently but hope I can get back to updating more frequently.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 145

**Ready. Aim. Fire.**

* * *

  
  


“S.A.R.A.H.! Door!” Jack hollered as he quickly descended the stairs to the bunker. The door hissed opened and Jack slowed his pace, the pneumatic hiss the reason he came back here. He ran his hand over the door as he walked in, thinking. As he stepped inside his hand fell off the door and he didn't ask S.A.R.A.H. to close it.

Zoe turned to look over her shoulder as the door opened. Her Dad was pointing at it and shaking his finger. “Dad? You’re still sane right?”

“Yeah, I got an idea.” Jack said and looked up at the ceiling. “S.A.R.A.H, door.”

The door closed and he watched it and smiled. Zoe frowned. “Are you really OK because you’re taking way too much joy in the automatic door.”

“Yeah, it’s the reason we’re OK and nobody else is.” Jack said and put his hands on his hips. 

“The _door_.” She clarified. Oh no, the truth sickness got to him too!

“Yeah.” Jack said and looked up at the ceiling. “S.A.R.A.H?”

“ _ Yes, Sheriff Carter? _ ”

“The hissing sound the door makes, that’s because the bunker is airtight, right?” Jack asked.

_ “Yes. Technically I am a Smart House and I am hermetically sealed, but yes. _ ”

“Ok, and where does the air come from then?” Jack asked.

“ _ I am equipped with oxygen and carbon dioxide tanks in case of emergency _ .”  S.A.R.A.H. explained. “ _ However, most of your breathable air is filtered from the outside through a point one micron particle filter.” _

Jack walked over to the couch and Zoe narrowed her eyes at him as she considered this new information. He smiled and looked up at the ceiling, this had to be it. This had to be the way to the answer. “And I’m betting you keep track of every micron.”

_ “Of course. _ ”

“Alright, I’m going to need an analysis and fast.” Jack said. “Whatever happened last night, tell me everything out of the ordinary.”

“ _ The only abnormality in the last 24 hours is a spike in pollen count between 11:53 pm and 6:23am--sunrise. _ ” 

Jack cocked an eyebrow. “Pollen, what kind of pollen?”

“ _ Searching… _ ”

Zoe looked up at him. “That explains me being unaffected but what about you? You’re normal but Nathan isn’t and you didn’t sleep here last night.”

Jack leaned on the couch and thought about what he was doing from midnight to sunrise last night, and he instantly remembered waking up to the sight of Taggart naked. The tent! The special VIP one way mirror tent! “The tent!”

“You lost me.” Zoe said.

“The tent that Nathan got out of his trunk. It’s some kind of emergency VIP tent with camouflage and temperature and bug control. He said it was made of some material that would filter out everything hazardous. Nathan left to check on Kevin and didn’t come back. He told me he fell asleep at the wheel and everyone has been complaining about falling asleep in weird places, so he was out there when it happened with everyone else.”

“That would do it.” Zoe said. “We were the only two people in Eureka who were protected from pollen last night.”

“Maybe not.” Jack said recalling that Nathan did leave, stopped at Allison’s, then freaked out about Kevin’s Hobbit God mural and then went to GD and dragged in his Artifact specialist. “Kim. Nathan made her come into work last night. He fell asleep driving back to the tent from GD. Henry’s super cranky and said she didn’t come home last night. She might still be down there and perhaps Section 5 has enough filters to keep the pollen out. She’s going to be the way I get to Nathan.”

Zoe could tell from the inflection in his voice that Nathan was not far from his thoughts. This was more than just looking to his husband as a source for a cure, he was worried about him needing to be cured before something bad happened. “You’re really worried about him.” 

“Yeah.” Jack admitted. “But I have to stop what’s happening before I can go get him out of GD somehow. S.A.R.A.H.? How’s that analysis coming along?”

  
“ _ The material in question is exotic in nature. _ ”

“Why does that sound like a description of Taggart?” Jack asked.

“ _ It will take me some time to collate the data. _ ”

“Ok, great.” Jack said and looked at Zoe. “You two work on that and I’m going to go back to where this all started.”

“Where?” Zoe asked. 

“Seth’s farm. Pollen of exotic nature screams Seth. Maybe those sleeping flowers mated with some Shakespearean pansy and gave us this nightmare.” Jack started backing away from the couch. “It’s not a coincidence that I got called out there last night and Seth and Fargo were the first ones to call 9-1-1 this morning. Seth's mention his Violacea is night blooming several times. Plus they were the most violent, first. It started there.”

“So, now I’m looking up flowers again?” Zoe asked. “Do you know now much time it took me to read Nathan’s stupid paper that was 37 pages of academic jargon that basically boils down to ‘No’?”

“I’m sorry.” Jack said as he got to the door. “If you want, your Mom is having a therapy session to help Beverly and Allison work through their betrayal issues and just go started on the topic of ethics….”

“Oh.” Zoe said. Mom talking about ethics was way way worse. “I loved every run-on sentence that made up Nathan’s paper. I can’t wait to read another research paper on exotic pollen plants.”

“Thanks my girl!” Jack said and got to the door. “Sarah, door. Zoe, call me when you have something.”

* * *

Jack was getting tired of running everywhere; Nathan was right--he did cover a lot of ground and never sat still. However this town really left him with little choice: driving him crazy and driving him all over the countryside looking for not-so-innocent science projects. This time he drove to Fargo’s house first,choosing to drive over his lawn to get to the Osborne Farm and get in the same way he did last night. He also was kinda pissed about ‘Warren the Betta’ and wanted to ruin Fargo’s grass for it. He followed his tire tracks from last night and parked. He took a mask out of the glove compartment that was stored there for times like this. Times when pollen made you tell the truth.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Sheriff Cobb had to deal with this. 

He put the mask around his neck and got out of the Jeep, looked around and then hopped the fence. He wandered through the plants to where the speaker system had been and saw that the electrical connection had been severed by something, probably the shovel that was laying a few feet away. More than likely the same shovel that Seth swore was used to knock him out. He ignored the evidence and followed the electric cord back to a barn in the middle of the field. 

Jack opened the door and looked inside and saw the pesticide spraying drone on a charger and a ton of computers monitoring things. One looked like the playlist for the serenading speaker system. What caught his eye was an aluminum gun thing on the wall and he picked it up to see what kind of weapon the innocent plant man needed. Of course nothing had labels. There was no magazine for bullets and it wasn’t something he recognized from his gun test. If Seth had a weapon in his shop, he certainly would have used it on Fargo already. The hose on the end of the gun went to a backpack, so either Seth was a really lazy Ghostbusters cosplayer or this some kind of agricultural tool. 

So he pulled the trigger to find out. The tip glowed with some kind of no-fire flame. 

Ok, that was cool! He tested it on a piece of paper to make sure the flame burned stuff instead of made it miracle grow into a mega plant. It set the paper on fire. Awesome! He stomped the fire out.  So it was a torch and he was definitely taking it with him while he inspected the farm for the evil plant causing the town so much harm. He left the barn with his newly acquired weapon and put the backpack on while he walked around looking at flowers. He walked around for five minutes and decided everything looked the same and that Seth was not big into labeling his stuff. He decided to touch base with Zoe and S.A.R.A.H. to see if they could give him a description. “Hey, Zoe? I’m in.” 

_ “Be careful. _ ” Zoe said. _"I don't know what I'm going to do if I have to save the town. You've got a weird and erratic way of solving things that works well. I'm not sure I would have followed the clues to the farm."_

“I got a flamethrower thing and nothing else to go on. Don't sell yourself short, partner. ” Jack said as he made his way back to the speaker system. Whatever it was could be around here since this was where Seth was working and whatever he was working on required music to keep it happy. It was a rational leap to conclude that if the plant wanted music he would set this thing up where it could get a front-row seat. “I don’t remember what plant was the one being serenaded last night. What does it look like?”

_ “Good news, S.A.R.A.H. verified that the filter log registered positive for pollen from the Violacea family.” _

“Yeah, yeah. It’s night blooming.” Jack said and looked around at everything that was not blooming. “The Necromancer Violacea, Seth’s hybrid.”

“ _ Necrosonium Violacea.”  _ Zoe sighed. She wondered how Nathan dealt with him.  _ “According to Eureka Quest internet search, it’s lLtin for ‘Death sleep’. _ ”

“Of course we have a practical need for Latin and my Latin translator is busy misinterpreting crayon drawings and obsessing about protecting me from God, the Hobbit.” Jack said and looked around waiting for one of the plants to open up and say ‘feed me’.

“ _ You two should take a real vacation _ .”

“You don’t get vacation time when you’ve only been on the job two weeks.” Jack informed his daughter of the harsh reality of adult life.

“ _ So, the wedding being in six months is because that’s the first chance you get for a vacation? _ ”

“Umm..” Jack thought about that. “I…guess? I'm not planning it so I suppose...”

“ _You still haven’t read your contract._ ” Zoe sighed. “ _Anyhow,_ _back to our current problem. The Necrosonium Violacea is, according to Dr. Osborne’s research proposal, potentially an organic sedative and alternative to general anesthesia_.”

“Potentially.” Jack sighed. “Yeah, it’s having a lot of potential to be the culprit in ruining Eureka and my weekend.”

_ “According to his paper, some varieties can alter brain chemistry. _ ”

“Always read the fine print.” Jack mumbled. “Why would someone plant this?”

_ “It’s Eureka _ .”

“Yeah. Maybe they should plant more common sense pollen makers.” Jack said and examined the settings on his flame thrower. Was this thing for weeds, pests or destroying experimental plants that got out of control? What did the scientists do with all the projects that failed? Was that why it wasn't illegal to kill clones?

“ _ There’s a picture here. It’s a purple flower or plant. Got any of those?” _

Jack looked around. Everything was green. “No. Nada.”

“ _ Hybrids may not share the same characteristics of their parents and often present radically different traits. _ ”

“Yeah, like sperm becoming a whale or a Betta fish.”

“ _ Is there another Fudgey? _ ”

“No. Fargo made a hybrid of his favorite people and it’s fancy fighting fish he sleeps with.”

“ _ Great. So by the time you and Nathan get around to making kids of your own, I’m going to have a full aquarium of step-fish to visit. _ ”

“Yeah, I probably should have brought that up while Nathan was in super-honesty mode.” Jack said and started looking more closely at the plants to determine their color. 

“ _ After reading his research papers, maybe you don’t want to hear anything technical from him. _ ”

“That’s a really good point.” Jack said and stopped in front of a plant that could be kinda green. Kinda purple. “You know what? Screw it, I’m just burning all of it.”

“ _ You’re going to destroy all Seth's research? _ ”

“I already encouraged the destruction of the new cell tower on a hunch and we only sort-of think it’s this flower, so why not just get rid of all of it?” Jack said. “Just to be on the safe side.”

“ _ Well, everyone else gets away with destroying things… _ ”

“Yes! So why not me?”

“ _ Because they have insurance to cover the damages? _ ”

“Not from the truth!” Jack said and held up the flame thrower he borrowed from Seth’s tool collection. “I’m just destroying plants.”

“ _ You’re destroying years of research into saving lives. _ ”

“Plants can grow again. Feelings and bridges are burned and damaged forever.”

“ _ Ok, Mom. _ ”

“Burn!” Jack said and let go of the radio so he could pull the trigger on the flame thrower. He got ready to light the field up and take out his frustrations on these damned plants. Then he heard a crunch behind him and felt the impact of something on the back of his head, before crashing to the ground.

Taggart stepped forward, shovel in hand. “Nature, one. Man, _nil_.”


	146. Burn, Baby, Burn

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 146

**Burn, Baby, Burn**

* * *

Jack felt someone tugging on him as he tried to shake off the ringing in his ears and the dizziness from being struck with something in the back of the head. He opened his eyes and saw doubles as he focused on what was in front of him,:the flamethrower just out of reach of his hand. He saw a flame, or rather two, burning at the end of a wand. Before he could think about the lacking safety features on the tool, he choked a little. Something was pressing against his throat as he felt a weight on him and the tugging get more aggressive. “What’s….what’s going on?”

“Striking back for Mother Nature.” Answered an Australian voice from above.

“Taggart?” At no point in his dazed state did he believe  _ that _ was the voice of God or the flamethrower on the ground to be the staff of Gandolf. At least he wasn’t a victim of the plants. Though the plants effected everyone differently, so there was no guarantee he’d have the same misguided interpretations that Nathan did. Oh wow was his brain not focusing on what was important right now. He grunted as he forced himself to re-focused on figuring out what Taggart was doing to him. 

Taggart kept pulling on the backpack trying to free it from the man. “I know what you’re up to, Sheriff.”

Jack groaned and looked over his shoulder at the naked, of course, Taggart. Taggart, the one person not fighting with other people, not locked up in jail and not drunk. Taggart, still naked. He touched the back of his head and felt blood. “Yeah? I know you’re up to charges for aggravated assault on a police officer and I will not be sending the Deputy you want handcuffing you to bring you in.”

“You were going to burn these beautiful plants!” Taggart hissed. “Who’s the villain?”

“You!” Jack said and rolled out from under him, pulling his flamethrower wand back into his grasp as he did so. “ _You_ hit _me_! I’m trying to burn them for good reason, jackass!”

Taggart bounced back out of range of a swing of the weapon with his cat-like reflexes. “What reason could you have for destroying such incredible examples of nature?”

Jack shuffled backwards and then got on one knee to prepare himself to get up. He was dizzy, seeing two naked Taggarts and feeling ready to puke. Oh yeah, that was a concussion. Now he was pissed. He got his finger on the trigger and pulled it, flames shot out of it and gave him a bit of time to get his brain unscrambled. “Pollen. And unless you want your pollinator roasted off, you better back off.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Taggart said and eyed the Sheriff with a wild look in his eye, still crouched and ready to pounce.

Jack pointed the flame gun at the man’s crotch. “Shame, really. Jo will be disappointed, but it looks like it’s going to be wieners over the campfire for lunch. I'll tell her you’re sorry you can’t make dinner tonight.”

Taggart tried to hold his fierce look, tried to hold his ground, but it only took one slight increase of flame from the Sheriff’s wand to make him reconsider. He screamed and took off running, covering his dangling parts with his hands to save them from the crazy Sheriff.

Jack finally had a moment to assess his damages. Vision was kinda getting better, headache was coming on strong, there was a lump forming on the back of his head from the shovel hit and it was taking some very collected breathing to not puke. He realized the reason he felt like he was choking was because he had a mask hanging on his neck and it had pushed against his throat when he landed face first in the soil. He put the mask over his face and got ready to stand up and start this bonfire, no misgivings about torching the whole damned field now.

* * *

“ _ Dad? You still out there? _ ” 

“Zoe, I’m alive. Plants, are not.” Jack said into his radio as he walked to the Jeep while the plants smoldered behind him. His head was throbbing. and he wanted to get the backpack off and get some drugs to take care of that. More than anything he wanted to sit down.

“ _ Did it work _ ?”

“I have no idea.” Jack answered as he dropped the canister and wand on the ground, opened the door and leaned over to the passenger seat. He began to go through his glove compartment for some drugs that just had to be in there. Nathan wouldn't let him go to work without some kind of special GD concussion reducing pills in his Jeep. Especially since he had been driving around with him for a few days last week. Nothing there, so he tried the center console. Yup. Sure enough, there was a pill pack with ‘For concussions’ written in sharpie on the package in Nathan’s handwriting. ‘Get an MRI. Yes, I’m that kind of Doctor.’ on the back side. Oh, how he loved that man. “How long does it take for pollen to wear off?”

“ _ Why do you think I know all these answers? _ ”

“You’re the genius.” Jack said and threw the pills in his mouth and washed them down with the coffee that was in the cupholder. It was cold and tasted...like it might not be today's coffee. Oh well, if coffee killed him he could at least appreciate the irony of going out like Fudgey. He cleared his throat and hit the radio button again to continue his conversation. “It’s pollen. It’s an allergic reaction, isn’t it?” 

_ “It’s not exactly working like an allergen _ .” Zoe explained. “ _ Most medicinal plants are picked and dried for use, but Seth was collecting the pollen for this research since the flower releases the spores as part of a defense against being eaten _ .” 

“It..sedates things trying to eat it?” Jack asked. Wow, this flower sounded like it had a lot in common with Allison and Nathan's sex life.

_ “While it’s blooming, yes _ .  _ The flower is the only edible part of it. _ ” She said. “ _ The herbivore wakes up in the morning after the flower is no longer out. _ ”

Jack took a moment to rest his head on the seat. “So what’s with the ‘death sleep’ name?”

_ “It’s a prehistoric plant. The original acted that way and the ‘death sleep’ name is because a passed out grazer was an easy kill. The prehistoric herbivores were dinosaurs and their predators were not big into eating flowers.” _

“Oh.” Jack said. “Wouldn't it just overdose and kill everything that isn’t gigantic? That’s a great thing to have blooming in Eureka. How the hell is anyone not dead? Why wasn’t the dinosaur eating dinosaur not effected? Why do answers always lead to more questions?”

_ “A face full of pollen was what it would take to knock a reptile like that out. The meat eaters didn’t have to graze all the time to feed their metabolism, a meal went a long way. They could sleep, start walking around looking for the next meal in the morning. If sleeping beauty was still snoozing, it was an easy meal." _

“Good to know.” Jack said. His kid really did know a wide range of stuff. 

_ “However we’re talking about a hybrid. The hybrid is modified to produce spores for sedation and apparently inhibition reduction after recovery. _ ” Zoe sighed. “ _ According to Seth’s research the pollen should not have been ready to release for months and certainly not spread for miles from his farm. Harvest is supposed to be in late July or early August and he has this special net that goes over the plants to trap the pollen. It needs humidity and heat to produce spores.” _

Jack sat upright and felt the lump on his head. “So why is Seth growing them in Oregon and not Florida? Why is he our problem and not NASA’s? It’s not humid up here in the summer, it’s humid during the winter. From November to March it never dries out.”

_ “Why do you know that? You just got here three weeks ago?” _

“U.S. Marshall, remember.” Jack said. “Humidity and bodies don’t go well together. I hated coming up here for work.”

“ _ Well, this is nothing that morbid. Seth is here because he can control the humidity for his plants easier than in a humid location like Florida. It’s artificially created, so he can control how they produce. _ ”

“Music, humidity, everything a Jurassic Park plant wants...until the Sheriff shows up with a flamethrower.” Jack said and looked out at the destroyed field and it made him think about his destroyed cabin, something with so much potential gone in the blink of an eye. “I bet the Weather Machine heating up the Lake and the evil weaponized weather display afterwards helped make it humid enough for the plants to feel like it was prehistoric home again.”

“ _ Hey, you’re not so bad at this. It’s not about memorizing the information, it’s about how you use it. Might want to try using your phone for more than baseball scores when I’m not on call because I have school.” _

“But all the geniuses in town would feel less superior if they got replaced by Google..” Jack said and looked at the flamethrower sitting outside his door. “So, the chances of this getting out of their system soon is high or low, Dr. Carter?”

Zoe laughed.  _ “Well, considering it’s supposed to be a replacement for general anesthesia during surgery I’ll ask the internet what average surgery time is and the answer is...about 4 hours. _ ”

“It’s been longer than that.”

_ “Dad, it’s still in the experimental phase and you just said the pollen release was triggered by a weather event. It’s supposed to be inhaled in small doses, probably as a compound, administered through a mask not straight from the farm field through the atmosphere. Everyone got a huge dose of this stuff _ . _It was waning by the time you got up or you would have been affected_.”

“That’s a lot of words just to say ‘I don’t know’. Sounds like you might have picked up on something from reading Nathan's research papers.” Jack said and felt like his head was throbbing a bit less. He was buying himself a little time to get his brain unscrambled so he could drive uninhibited. He was also trying to stay talking in case this concussion was worse than he thought. With all of Eureka under the influence of a dinosaur killing orchid, Zoe was going to be one of the few people who could help him. 

“ _ I’ve been bullshitting my way through school for years, you think I don’t know how to drag out a research paper? _ ”

“Language!” Jack said, feeling a bit responsible for her cursing now even though he knew she had a pretty expansive vocabulary. 

“ _ Sorry, I thought we were partners and could speak candidly. _ ”

Jack had to laugh. “Yeah. I think your Mom has won that round today.”

_ “Are you going to go check on her? _ ”

“I’ll wait for a phone call.” Jack said, making the decision on his next move right then. “Give them some time to talk, get the pollen out of their system and get angry they’re attached to the furniture with restraints. I’m heading to town and hoping I can find Henry at Cafe Diem and see if he can find a way down to Section 5.”

“ _ You think he’s going to help you? _ ”

“I don’t have a choice. I can’t rely on Allison, she’s really not handling Nathan being with me well.. Jo says she can’t get past security. Kim is down in Section 5, so she can let us in. Henry is my access to her. Nathan hinted he wants Henry to join in on Kim’s project so...I’m betting he gave him access to some of it. Just to pique his interest if he cared to look it up.”

“ _ You really do know Nathan well. _ ”

“You sound so surprised.” Jack said. 

_ “You two haven’t known each other that long and he seems to be this mysterious guy to everyone in Eureka and yet you understand him so well. _ ”

“We’re married.” Jack said with a laugh. “You really think I’d marry someone I didn’t understand? Look, with your Mom, it wasn’t just because she got pregnant. We were in love. We still love each other. We didn’t understand _ourselves_ at that point in life and were too busy just trying to conquer everything we might have taken a few things for granted. I’m sorry if she said anything today…”

“ _ No, she didn’t say anything I didn’t already know.  _ “ Zoe paused. “ _ Should we really be talking about this on the radio? _ ”

“Eh,” Jack shrugged. “Lot of confessions and truths today. I’m not ashamed of a little honesty. Even the playing field. I should get going, though. If Henry left Cafe Diem, I’ll have to track him down.”

“ _ Wait, I have surveillance for that _ .” Zoe typed and came back with, “ _ He’s still there. Lots of people duct taped to stools though.” _

“Alright kid, signing off.”

“ _ Go get your man, Sheriff _ .” Zoe came back. “ _ Over. _ ”

Jack smiled and clipped the radio back on his shirt. It made him feel proud and just damned happy that his kid supported him and his husband most of anyone. Granted she had been the one to get them both here, and he tended to forget that little manipulation, but she really was their # 1 fan and he loved that. And, yes, it was time to go get his man.


	147. One Does Not Simply Walk Into Section 5

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 147

**One Does Not Simply Walk Into Section 5**

* * *

Jack made it to town without any complications from his concussion or sightings of a naked Taggart. He avoided stopping at the Sheriff’s Department because he just didn’t have time to deal with Jo or Andy and didn’t want to find out if Jo was in a new mood or Andy missing more limbs. He needed to get into GD and he needed to do it soon, he was worried about Nathan. It was going to take time for the pollen to wear off, he could be selfish right now because he was out of things to do and options to fix this science problem. 

He parked, got out and stepped over someone zip tied to a table outside Cafe Diem and walked into the restaurant. He walked directly to Henry and sat down. “So, how’s it going?”

Henry rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, you need something.”

“Nope.” Jack lied. “I just got back from reducing Seth’s Necrophilia Violet See-ya plants to ash and I kinda want to celebrate. I figured it out- the reason everyone lost impulse control. Sometimes you gotta fight science with fire.”

Henry bit his lip. “You do that on purpose, don’t you? Deliberately use the wrong words so someone will correct you in order to feel superior?”

“It’s the easiest way to get people to engage with me and info dump. I get a ton of answers most people would not give up, otherwise.” Jack said with a smile. “Takes some creativity on my part to find a new way to inaccurately name the stuff every time.”

“And to get your answers you’re willing to look stupid.” Henry said and shook his head. “Probably the only one in this town who would put their ego aside for the greater good.”

“I don’t know, I think Nathan tries to do good things, sometimes, even if it’s to serve his ego. Some people need more fuel for the fire than others.” Jack said. “I’m a peacekeeper, I have to be willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good. It’s a different job. I don’t fault people for having selfish reasons to do things, I only get pissed when they hurt others to achieve that."

"Good to know." Henry said.

"So, who exactly are we talking about here?”

“I’m wondering why I’m in Eureka.” Henry replied. “Is it because I like being the person everyone goes to for answers? Am I here just to fuel my ego?”

“I think you’re here to work on cool stuff and teach people and maybe balance things out. You and Nathan don’t exactly seem to agree on handing over stuff to the military after it’s done. I worry about some of this stuff in their hands too.” Jack said. “Balance is good.”

“You don’t really know me.” Henry said.

“I’d really like to. I think we’re on the road to being friends and I honestly want to come over for dinner and have you and Kim tease Nathan and be lost completely when talk turns to science. I really want to know how the hell Fudgey happened and if I should be worried about Warren, Fargo’s Betta fish.”

“Most definitely.” Henry said.

“About friendship, teasing Nathan, being science dumb, the whale, or the goldfish?” Jack asked.

“I value our budding friendship, Jack.” Henry said. “You understand people, they’re easy for you to read and comprehend. They’re complicated and yet you know how to handle them.”

“Um, thanks?” 

“So, tell me. How did she not know, Jack?” Henry asked and leaned his elbow on the counter, and rested his cheek on his fist. “How could she be married to Jason and not know something was off during all those years of marriage?”

“Kim?” Jack said, surprised at the turn in conversation. No impulse control, so now everyone was changing topics of conversation like he usually did. “I kinda got the feeling their marriage was a little stressed. From experience, sometimes you just ignore a lot of issues because admitting defeat or changing your life is too much to handle. I dealt with a lot of cases where a spouse knew something was off but just couldn't, or wouldn't, look directly at the problem to figure it out. It's not easy accepting the person you married is a fraud or criminal, it's never going to be easy being that person because nobody is going to believe you didn't know.”

“So complacency allows you to overlook that someone was brainwashing you into loving them? Into doing their work for them?”

“It’s called _gas-lighting_ , Henry.” Jack said. “And what you’re doing is _victim-blaming_. Kim is not the bad guy for not second guessing herself or her husband when she had no evidence to go on. She saw he was brilliant, thought he was smarter than her, and you just admitted that most of you geniuses like to talk down to people. She felt inferior to him. She felt dumb. It’s one thing if you’re the local Sheriff, but she was a scientist; a _genius_ scientist and every time he flashed her with that memory wiper thing she couldn’t put the pieces together to see the picture. I got hit with that thing for a basic traffic stop and it turned my world upside down because I  _ knew, _ I knew the answer but I couldn’t find it. I started doubting myself. If I wasn’t so reliant on my gut feeling to save my ass, I would have never figured out what he took from me either.”

“A feeling, a gut feeling, was all it took.” Henry said simply and looked at him.

“Did  _ you  _ see anything?” Jack asked, kinda feeling a little insulted by the tone. “Jason was your friend, you never suspected him, did you? Did you just dismiss any feelings for Kim as something that you tried and failed at or else she wouldn't have married him? Same thing. You didn’t have the data, nor did she. Jason stole time from you and her, stole ideas, stole parts of your lives. He's the bad guy. ”

Henry nodded. “You have a point.”

“Look, I’m sure it’s been a rough week trying to get a relationship rekindled while she ends her marriage, but take it from me that you gotta get some distance from that in order to be able to get some clarity.” Jack said and wondered how this day lead him back to Cafe Diem talking about Jason Anderson and Henry's love life. This town was something else.

“Well, I suppose you would be the one to have the experience with that.”

“Oh, not again.” Jack moaned. “What is with all you open-minded people having such conservative beliefs on marriage?”

Henry frowned. “I’m asking, Jack. I’m not condemning. I never connected with anyone like I did with Kim and I gave my life to study, teaching, research and creation. I opted to work alone because I just could never stop comparing everyone to Kim.”

“Sorry. Just seems like everyone is super judgy.” Jack wasn’t used to anyone looking to him for relationship advice. It was weird. “Just It takes time, Henry. You know what, no better time than now. Let’s go to GD, tell her you want to be there for her and work through this with her, you don’t want to lose any more time. It's the weekend. There's a play tonight! A great play about drugging people and making them fall in love with asses. It's got aliens. Jetpacks. My kid. Everything you need to feel like maybe this entire Eureka episode might have been a midsummer nights dream and everyone can just go back to reality and be happy.”

“She’s working.” Henry said. 

“Ok, so complacency it is.” Jack said with a shrug and got up to get himself his coffee. 

“No.” Henry said and stood up as well. “You’re right. If I really want answers I have to ask questions.”

“Or ride this high of honesty pollen for as long as it lasts!” Jack said enthusiastically. “I’ll take you there and see what magic I can work with her boss to get her the weekend off.”

Henry just looked at him and shook his head. “Thanks, appreciate you doing that  _ for me _ .”

“Well, I told you, I am a peacekeeper. I’ll sacrifice myself for the greater good.” Jack grinned. “I kinda like it here and, since both of you and your student think you’re carrying the whole town, I guess I have to make sure you want to stick around.”

“Why?” Henry asked.

“Because..” Jack put his hands on the counter and asked himself the same question. Why was it so important to him that Henry stay here? To watch over Nathan? To maybe repair their relationship? To be that ‘go-to- guy he just confessed to be tired of being? “I think Eureka, and GD, will benefit from a marriage of two different ways of thinking the same way my marriage to Nathan has benefited me. I think this place is a really great concept, but horribly dangerous and clearly given way way too much freedom. However, a lot of good things are made here and may not have been if things were safe...and complacent.”

“I would like to go see Kim.” Henry said. “But she’s working on a top-secret project..”

“Working on the Artifact and maybe you should look into it too?” Jack said. “Nathan’s pretty focused on it and thinks it’s dangerous so  _ you know  _ it’s got to be super dangerous and definitely world-ending if he has reservations about it. So help me out here too. Look into it. Maybe you and Kim can work on it together...maybe Nathan can work with you. I don’t know. I just think maybe you’re looking at this wrong? Maybe you need to be involved to make sure it doesn’t fall in the wrong hands or hurt someone? Maybe this is the work you need to make up for all the years you didn't work together?”

“You’re right.” Henry said. “I do want to know what’s more important than both of us.”

“Great!” Jack said. “Let’s go look at this thing. It's God, or Sauron, or something.”

Henry got up.

“Oh, except I don’t have a way in to Section 5. Nathan’s phone doesn’t work down there and Allison is in session with Beverly and Abby and I don’t have access…”

“I’ll get us in.” Henry said. 

Jack felt a little guilty about this, but then again everyone had been pretty damned mean to him all day and this was hardly on that level. He was really ready for this day to end!


	148. Without You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update! I'm not dead, just working a lot.:) I've desperately missed writing this story.

_ Dissolved _

Chapter 148

**Without You**

* * *

Jack was worried when it seemed like all of GD was a ghost town, but it was Saturday and he reasoned not everyone came to work. Deduct all the people Jo and Andy had arrested in town, and it didn't seem so bad to arrive at a vacant building. Henry didn't seem to care about any of it, so he followed him to the elevator and tried to stay silent lest he accidentally piss the man off and lose his way into Section 5. The doors closed and Henry punched the keypad on the elevator, entering his code and getting an approval to descend to the floor where Section 5 was. All good. All things going to hastily-constructed plan. Until he saw Henry's face, which was wracked with worry. Ok, so that definitely wasn't good. Before he could ask, the doors opened and they stepped out into the foyer with all the heavily armed security guys and eyeball scanners and clearance checks. OK, so maybe he was worried now too.

They silently went though the security check and said nothing. Henry was getting agitated and Jack piped up and asked, "Where are you planning to take Kim on your big date tonight?"

"What?" Henry asked, both surprised and concerned.

"I mean, you can't just confess your feelings, you have to have a plan. A follow up. Otherwise it's just kinda awkward." Jack said and shrugged. "Hey, I love you and want to make something of this. How about dinner and a show?"

"What show?" Henry asked. "The _Shit_ show that is Eureka right now?"

Jack paused and noticed the security dudes were waiting on him to answer. Great. It would be helpful if everything didn't hinge on not pissing people off right now while everyone was high on Piss-me-off-Pollen. "The show..."

All three stood there and waited. Jack was about to answer 'Lord of the Rings' because it was on his mind as an icebreaker for when he found Nathan, but then he thought about what show they did watch recently. A shitshow they were currently living . "The school play! A Midsummer Night's Dream...er...Invasion. Putnum crafted a masterpiece and I...have two tickets. I doubt the ex-wives are going to want to go to the show tonight, you can sit with us! Double date! How cool, right!?"

"That's really thoughtful, Jack." Henry said softly. The guards nodded in approval. 

Jack breathed a sigh of relief and the guards smiled and went back to work clearing them for entrance into the Danger Basement of GD. Henry was looking worried,again, looking like maybe he was having second thoughts as things came up on the monitor for him to sign: confidentiality agreements. The reminder of why he didn't want to work at GD handed to him on a nice, expensive, top of the line, tablet. If he backed out, there was no guarantee that Jack could get in here. "Maybe we can call ahead and get Kim to meet us at the door so you can just walk on out of here. Clock out and start all the 'us' time you have been missing out on?"

"That's actually a good idea." Henry said and shoved the tablet back across the desk. "I hate all this bureaucratic bullshit. This is what ruined Eureka and Global Dynamics, you know that? And you husband, too."

"I'm trying to save him, Henry." Jack said and it must have sounded desperate because everyone looked at him. "Today, I want to save him from himself. Tomorrow, we'll keep working on saving him from paperwork. Right now, I just need him alive and well and maybe with some of that decontamination gel shoved up into his sinuses so we can get the pollen out?"

"That is an option, but won't get you the results you want. Our bodies have already reacted to the pollen, it's too late to remove it from our bodies. Best we can hope for is an anti-histamine or let time run it's course." Henry explained then grabbed the tablet back. "I need to check on Kim. She might be effected."

"Plus she's working on that _super_ dangerous Artifact project." Jack threw _that_ out as a reminder. _That_ got Henry to sign paperwork. "Hey, did you guys call Kim and tell her she has a visitor?"

"We did, Dr. Anderson is on her way."

That helped speed things along too. As speedy as GD paperwork could be. Jack began to get anxious. Henry was sighing a lot and shaking his head, and time was ticking by with Nathan alone in the lab since Kim was on her way here. No, he'd come to security and try and keep him out of Section 5 for sure! Especially since he locked him up earlier! Finally, after what seemed like forever, the guards took the tablet and said 'thank you' and opened the door. He was expecting Nathan, and he wasn't there. 

"Henry!" Kim's voice called out from the other side as soon as the doors opened.

All of Henry’s worries seemed to go away when he saw Kim. Jack, however, was worried again because Nathan was not with Kim. He looked over at the guard as the man waved _him_ through too, which was not what he was expecting. “Ok, so….I get that Henry had access to section 5 because Nathan was trying to lure him into working at GD, but _ I don’t _ and the security guards don’t seem to be upset about me being here.”

“Nathan gave you emergency personnel access.” Kim explained. “You’re part of his careful constructed safety plan.”

“Oh.” Jack said. Well that was both sweet and concerning. “Does he not know I’m here?”

“I didn’t relay the information to him.” Kim said and wished she had more to tell Jack. “He’s not right.” 

“You mean, because he thinks that God is a Hobbit and that I’m going to die because of a crayon drawing?” Jack asked.

“Actually, I  _ am _ worried about the readings on the Artifact at the time that coincided with Kevin’s drawing.” Kim said as they walked down the hall a little to get away from security. The door closed, giving them some privacy. “I’m more concerned with him ignoring all his own safety security protocols including the radiation suit for the Artifact chamber in order to get closer to it.”

“That’s one more uncharacteristic apparel choice for the day.” Jack said. “Do you mean he’s been exposing himself to radiation all day?”

“No, I would have definitely intervened.” She said. “All data points to the radiation being contained within the chamber, however he has been making comments about sampling it all day today and I am concerned he might try.”

“I’m kinda surprised I wasn’t taken down by the security guards since he was obsessed with keeping me safe today.” Jack said. "So he really has been thinking about the Artifact and only the Artifact since he came back down here, huh?"

“Another reason I’m worried, Nathan isn’t someone who forgets things like that.” Kim informed him.” He’s incredibly hyper focused and acting like he’s going to get answers about the Artifact _today_ when we all know it could be lifetimes before we begin to understand what it is.”

“Oh, cool.” Jack said and put his hands in his pockets. This was definitely no cool and he was on the verge of panicking. “Good thing I left ‘save husband from himself’ as the last thing on my to-do list today. Anything else I should know about? Maybe elaborate on the radiation suit thing?”

“You only need it for exposure to the Artifact. The lab and corridor is safe.” Kim informed him. “Unless he opened the door.”

“OK. I’ll go check on him and you two can talk about your big date tonight. Since you two should definitely celebrate Kim working all night in the one place she wouldn’t get exposed to truth serum pollen and could help me save Nathan.” Jack said and smiled at Henry who had been quiet, as if he was struggling with the right words to say. No, he was tearing up. Apparently Kim brought out the softer side where he had been the recipient of the mean Henry.

“So that’s why everyone’s been acting weird?” Kim asked. “Barely anyone came to work today, I know it’s Saturday, but that rarely stops anyone from coming in. The shift change for the security team devolved into a screaming match and a few other researchers were in heated arguments when I came out for coffee. And then there was Nathan, who was very worried you would be the Artifact’s victim.”

“Speaking of the love of my life…” Jack was anxious now. He needed to get to him. Pointed down the hall. “What room?”

“42.” She replied and then looked at Henry. “Our big date?”

Henry gave Jack a smile as he waved and took off running down the hall. “I’d like to start making up for lost time. Maybe instead of just dinner, we could do something a little more...in the direction I would like to see things go?”

“I’d like that very much.” Kim said with a huge smile and Henry seemed absolutely overwhelmed by that. She reached out and touched his cheek and it was the invitation he needed to envelop her in a hug.

Jack, meanwhile, began to run to his destination. He could feel his heart pound as his feet carried him down the corridor. It seemed like forever, running past lab after lab, and the only sound in the hallway was the echo of his footsteps. How many damned labs did Section 5 have?! Finally he reached Lab 40 and slowed down, he didn’t even think that he might need a code or something to access the room until he got there. Lab 42. Of course: _42_. The answer to life, the universe and everything. Nathan Stark, you fucking nerd.

Jack reached out for the panel and it accepted his hand print. He grinned. Then the display asked for a password and his smile vanished. 

He stared at it, the blinking cursor mocking him for not having this very important conversation about secret government lab access codes with his husband. Surely it was something that would have come up? No….knowing Nathan it would have come up when he finally agreed to take his insurance, his benefits, open a joint bank account at the Bank of Eureka and then eventually Nathan would smile and inform him that he gave him access to his work too. A treat, a show of devotion and vulnerability, a reward for Jack giving in and accepting everything Nathan had to offer: unifying them through a superior health benefit offering and classified information.

Because that was the asshole he married.

_ Married. _

Jack looked at his hand hovering over the keypad and saw his wedding ring. He looked up at the key code display panel and narrowed his eyes at it. There was _no way_ that Nathan ‘I complicate everything and have a Nobel and PhD in everything nobody else can understand’ Stark would ever use a super secret password choice like a wedding date. Talk about the worst password ever, certainly GD security and the elite computer systems would immediately reject such an insecure and awful password.

He typed in the date they were married. He’d never forget that day or that date, or the feeling of the rush of excitement when Nathan asked him to marry him and he blurted out ‘yes’ without hesitation. It was engraved on the inside of his wedding ring in case he ever forgot it, because having the code written somewhere on your person was another horrible horrible idea and…

The door opened as the panel flashed ‘Password accepted, welcome Sheriff Carter.’. 

Jack winced. Was this a reflection of how crazy Nathan was or how little faith he had in Jack to figure out a simple puzzle? It didn’t matter, what mattered was he was in and didn’t have to waste time running back to Kim. He walked in the lab and looked around. Computers. Blinking lights. Kevin’s drawing taped to the glass. Stuff that was not a 7 foot tall, gorgeous, brilliant, horrible-password-generating man. He looked through the window that overlooked yet another room, a computer station and a hexagon hallway on the opposite wall.  _ The _ hexagon hallway. He would recognize that from the drawing, even if Nathan didn’t tape it to the fucking glass in case he needed a treasure map shoved in his face.

They were going to have a serious discussion about whether or not Nathan’s subconscious thought he was a complete moron or if Nathan’s cries for help were not nearly as complex as he thought they were. Then again, this was the same guy who donated a ton of sperm to the science facility he and his wife worked at when she shut him down about having kids, so maybe lack-of-impulse- control Nathan was a simple guy. 

Jack took a deep breath and walked out of the outer lab and into the inner lab. No lock on this door, once you were in….you were in. He stepped inside the next room, a warning light was flashing overhead and he ignored it. He ignored the many OSHA compliant safety posters on the walls, even if some of the caution sign images were kinda unique and alarming. He rolled his wedding ring around on his finger, too nervous to rush into that corridor and find out he was too late. 

His stride shortened and he found himself short of breath as he looked around this lab. A yellow strobe light flashing overhead not doing him any favors as he tried to calm himself down. Emergency and caution, a flashing light an indicator of something horrible in his line of work. Of a law broken, a life ruined. What if he was too late? What if Nathan was gone, throwing himself into the one fucking project in this place that he thought was capable of answering anything. Some kind of doorway to God that would take away what he loved if he didn’t give it what it asked for? 

A sacrifice. 

In Nathan’s mind a sacrifice would be his own existence, he was all too aware of his damned ego. A sacrifice from him would have to be self. To Jack, sacrificing himself was easy, but sacrificing some ground and control was too much for his own ego to handle. Oh, they were quite the match alright.

Jack took the final steps and paused at the entrance to the hexagon hallway. The hallway,  _ just  _ like Kevin’s picture. Ok, maybe he was getting a little spooked now, but if that was a vision of his future he'd just deal with it. The only person he cared about was Nathan right now and he found the courage to step into that hallway.  Nathan was at the end of it, thank God, busy typing into a tablet, clearly trying to open the door at the end. A more urgent light was swirling overhead and reflecting off the radioactive sign beside the door. Jack found his voice, even though it cracked with emotion when it came out of his throat. “So, uh, is that the tower of Sauron?”

“Jack?” Nathan said and looked up from his tablet. Immediately he became irrationally angry. “Why are you down here? After I showed you the picture _ you still came _ into this hallway where you die?”

“Oddly enough you gave me permission to access your super dangerous basement science experiment so…” Jack shrugged trying to keep his cool and calm Nathan down. “I assume in your brilliance you felt like I was the failsafe and that you genuinely needed me to have access. We need to talk about password security though, or how dumb you think I am that I wouldn’t be able to guess a number you set for me.”

Nathan wasn’t calming down. “I left you locked up in Section 4 for your safety. Why must we talk about everything? Why can’t you trust that I do things with your best interest in mind? Why can’t you just let me take care of you?”

“Because someone is being an irresponsible director of GD and I'm the guy who calls you on it. You’re not paying attention to your prisoners because I broke out hours ago with the help of the robot you gave me.” Jack watched his husband’s face flicker between him and the door, questioning if he could once again trap him somewhere to keep him safe. “And I do trust you. I just like to be involved in the decisions. Our partnership, our marriage, it's about compromise. We both have to be involved.”

“I told you the danger you were in, where it would be, and the drastic measures I would take to ensure you were safe.” Nathan said, harshly. “I told you and you ignored all that.”

“You did. And the thing is, I don’t want to lose you either.” Jack said and kept walking to him. “So if  _ this _ walk down the aisle is going to be what kills me, I’m still going to take every step towards you until it does.”

“Dammit Jack! Why can’t you trust what I showed you! Trust that I know what I’m doing!” Nathan yelled and almost threw the tablet.

“I trust you. I just don’t trust _you_ under the influence of a truth pollen.” Jack kept walking towards him, knowing Nathan could probably overpower him if it came down to a fight. Sure he had years of training to take down someone larger than him, but he would hold back because of who it was. That would be enough to ensure Nathan’s superior size and strength won. He had to hope he could talk some sense into him even though he was definitely pissed right now. “I’m not. I’m not under the influence of the pollen because  _ you did _ keep me safe with that magic tent. And S.A.R.A.H. kept Zoe safe with her filtration system. And Andy kept me safe because he’s the robot you gave me to help me. And you gave me access to Section 5 so that I can keep you safe, because without you….what’s the point of being safe?”

Nathan watched Jack come closer and he glazed down at his tablet, just one more code away from opening the door to the artifact chamber. “Jack…”

“I’m not under the influence of the truth pollen but I think now more than ever you need to hear the truth from me. Not because of some crazy rainforest plant but because I love you and I am scared of losing you too. I don’t tell you enough what you mean to me.” Jack said. “So, let me remind you that not too long ago you made a very impactful presentation about the benefits of working together and how I shouldn’t try and push you out of the case when I thought someone was trying to kill you.”

“That was…different.” Nathan said, but it wasn’t. The MPH situation had been very similar. 

“Was it?” Jack asked, then pointed at Nathan. “Occam’s Razor. What’s more probable? That Kevin can draw the future or he just watched the Lord of The Rings Trilogy?”

“This isn’t because of a movie.” Nathan said, frustrated. “Jack….”

“Two guys, going to the danger mountain where there is an all knowing eyeball watching them?” Jack asked and held up his ring finger. “One ring between them. A journey to overcome evil. Loyalty. Everyone trying to tear them apart and the world coming to an end during their journey and an outright refusal to give up on the guy they loved. Yeah, one ring to bind us and you go in there, I go with you.”

Nathan could feel his mind changing gears, as often was the case when he discussed anything with his husband. His anger faded and he asked, confused, “Are you implying Tolkien was writing about Frodo and Sam….being in love?”

“Yeah. That was the story I watched. Why? You want to be Aragorn because he’s hot? Fine. Then you need to throw away this notion of some giant orb watching and manipulating us into doing things and get your ass out of here and be the King you are. Save this place from all the people trying to tear it down and use it for their own gain. You don’t let anyone tell you what to do and this Artifact is going to get to do that?”

Nathan stared at him as he took away his control panel. “If..”

“I’m going to die, Nathan. Someday.” Jack said and unplugged the tablet. “We all are. Are you going to stop living with me just because you’re scared of the inevitable or are you going to enjoy every second we have together?”

“I’ve never known fear like this.” Nathan admitted. “Fear that I won’t have the answer or cure, fear that I lose what I love most in this world. I’ve never felt so strongly about anyone or anything in my life and...”

“Then come with me and get out of here and back into our tent in the woods. Come swim with me in the lake. Come compliment me while I squirm underneath you. I’m not going anywhere. You need to be here _ with me _ though, in the present and not looking back at the past or into the future. Look at me,  _ right now _ .” Jack took the tablet firmly into his hands.

“My eyes rarely leave you.”

“Good.” Jack said and bent down to slide the tablet down the floor of the hallway, just in case Nathan got grabby. He felt a little dizzy when he stood up. “Actually you really should  _ look at me _ because I got smacked in the back of the head with a shovel earlier and I think I might have a concussion.” 

Nathan watched the tablet slide down the hallway. Then he looked back at Jack who was rubbing his head. “You  _ what _ ?”

“It has been  _ a day _ .” Jack sighed. “And that’s saying a lot considering it has been one day after another since we came here. God, I missed having you by me for it.” 

Nathan watched Jack take his hand and kiss it. Kiss his ring and squeeze his hand. “Even after I admitted I was only playing baseball with you because we don’t have a lot in common and you look amazing in those pants?”

“Yeah, I’ll take it. I was actually afraid you'd have  _ way  _ worse to say to me than that. If that’s our biggest secret, I think we’re doing pretty good.” Jack had to keep kissing Nathan’s hand, kissing his ring. This man was his husband and he was absolutely amazing. He had to stop doubting himself, had to stop looking for the cracks in the perfect picture. “I don’t know how you could ever think I would get bored with you. We talk about everything and nothing. I really missed you today and I mean  _ missed _ you. Not because I was worried about ‘the precious’ Artifact or because I needed you to fix this pollen thing, but because this has been the first time in two weeks that I felt you were really out of touch. I missed talking about all this science stuff with you even if I loved the fact that I got to work with my daughter today. I’m not going anywhere, Nathan. I didn’t appreciate how good I had it with you and I see that now, clear as ever.”

“I missed you too.”

“That’s good because I burned all of Seth’s plants and I’m sure it’s going to piss you off. So please come with me and tell me about the Dinosaur necromancer violin flower and how we can help the pollen wear off while we drive to Beverly’s to unhandcuff your ex-wife. Oh, and your robot took off his leg to make a wheel for your wrecked car, so you’ll probably have to give him a new one. Or just put him in the closet and plug him in, S.A.R.A.H,’s accepted that she wants what he gives her. I really just want to go to bed with you, in our bed, not some tent that Taggart peed on. I want to take tomorrow _off_.”

“Can we start by checking out your brain in the infirmary?” Nathan asked. “This all sounds very Eureka but at the same time, I am concerned about you being hit in the head by a shovel.”

“ _We could_ as long as you promise to not lock me in there and run back to this damned thing. I’m kinda getting jealous. I’ll handcuff you to me.” Jack said and looked at the closed door. Now he was going to have to fight some kind of radioactive deity of knowledge for Nathan? Well...he probably should have expected that. The man was probably half-God anyway. It would explain a lot. 

“Well that’s an option I don’t mind.” Nathan said with a smirk.

“Are you being serious or is this kinky pollen influenced Nathan ?” Jack asked.

“Being handcuffed to you was never an option you offered.” Nathan countered, smirk widening and eyes roaming over his husband's face. 

“Noted.” Jack said and then gave him a kiss. A slow, tender kiss. “What about the option where you leave the Artifact alone until you’re thinking straight and come out of here with me? Maybe give everyone a truth pollen antihistamine and a bullshit story as to why everyone acted like they did? Save the town, so we can stay here and get married again and work together until everyone is sick of our shit and Zoe has to lock us up in a cabin in the woods?”

Nathan smiled at him and looked into those beautiful blue eyes and then heard a click. He looked down at his hand as Jack handcuffed him and then snapped the handcuff on himself. “Shit. I should have seen that coming.”

“Yeah.” Jack smirked. “So can you admit that  _ maybe _ you’re not thinking straight?”

“I’ll admit that I don’t mind this as much as I thought I would.” Nathan said and pulled Jack closer to him by the hip and ran his hand over his face with his cuffed hand.

“And _maybe_ that picture you’re obsessed with  _ really is _ of us having weirdly positioned sex in this hallway because..” Jack tugged his hand to show off the handcuffs. “ _ This _ is definitely not going to be easy to work around and you will definitely cheat and bite my nipples to get the edge.”

“Maybe.” Nathan conceded.

“I missed you today.  _ A lot _ .” Jack said and wrapped his hand around Nathan’s and brought it to his lips to kiss his palm. “I missed your amused looks at my suggestions. Your attempts to not laugh and encourage me as I butchered the names of science things, and I really went above and beyond today. Your ‘I’m not giving you preferential treatment but I’m sure as hell not being this nice to anyone else in this building’ help. You, looming over everyone and scaring them, then looking at me and smiling like you do.”

“I just wanted to keep you safe.” Nathan explained. 

“I don’t like being pushed aside and cut off from you….” Jack paused and realized at that very moment that this was _exactly_ what he did to Nathan by refusing to move in, by overreacting to the job reassignment...to turning his back on the best thing that had ever happened to him to protect them both. “And I didn’t realize how awful it had to be for you….am so sorry I did that to you. I just wanted to keep us both safe and it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I can’t imagine being separated from you now.”

“This is a bit extreme.” Nathan frowned at the handcuffs. “But...definitely has some potential.”

“Can we get out of here?” Jack asked. “Maybe lock this place up? Give everyone the weekend off?”

“You were supposed to have the weekend off.”

“Yeah, well, you were supposed to keep me occupied.” Jack said and Nathan ran his free hand through his hair, then he winced as he touched that spot Taggart hit him.

“How about we start with keeping you occupied with an MRI?” Nathan asked as he ran his hand over a menacing lump on his husband's head. "And you tell me who did this?"

“You’re just trying to get me to take off the handcuffs.” Jack smirked. “You don’t get to poke around my brain or body until you’re back to Secretive Stark again. We can, however, see if Kim and Henry want to help us mix up a batch of Back-to-Ourselves Benedryl and get everyone’s head back to repressed and normal.”

“Fine.” Nathan said. “Do you have a sample of the pollen?”

“I do have a biohazard suit that I wore when I torched the field. S.A.R.A.H. has some readings. Zoe did some reading. I think we have stuff.” Jack definitely did not have a sample of the flower, in fact those flowers might be totally extinct now. Whoops.

“So, _no_.” Nathan answered. “And you just admitted to destroying it all.”

“Nathan Stark, there are things called 'filters' and not only do they trap all the bad pollen from getting in, but we need to reinstall them on everyone in Eureka to stop them from speaking about their real feelings. So, yes, I do have some pollen samples for you.” Jack said. Yes. He'd find something. Probably on Taggart since he ran through the field to get away from him and was totally naked and some of that stuff had to stick to him.

“Any chance you want a sperm sample right here and now?” Nathan asked, a whisper and a sultry look telling Jack he really was thinking with something other than his drugged up brain.

“Oh my God, you’re impulse control is all over the place.” Jack said and then looked at him. “Is it the handcuffs?”

“No, it’s _you_.” Nathan said. “I’m very much turned on  _ by you _ .”

“Well, then you can have sex as a treat for making a antidote to the truth serum.” Jack said with a smile, not at all oblivious to how he was glowing with adoration for this man. Then he ceded, “ Maybe even in the elevator.”

“Not the same when the building is empty.” Nathan clarified.

“Take it or leave it.” Jack countered.

“One antidote coming right up.” Nathan grinned and kissed Jack, then pushed him up against the wall to try and escalate things only to find out that the hallway design was definitely _ not _ meant for two 6 foot tall men to be getting sexually adventurous. 

Jack got bent up against the wall and ceiling juncture as Nathan tried to kiss him and it reminded him, again, of that shovel-to-back-of-head incident from earlier. Yeah that was a touch sore and he couldn’t help but lean his back against the wall as the lower angle shoved his feet forward. He looked up at Nathan who seemed to be contemplating whether or not the architect who designed this dumb hallway was trying to cockblock him. “Pretty sure the guy who made the hallway this shape couldn’t draw the future either and wasn’t trying to stop us from fucking next to God’s radiation orb.”

“I’m still going to look up the plans in the records room when I get a chance.” Nathan said and then pulled Jack into him, helping him stand upright. “And start some mathematical calculations on how we can make these angles work.”

“And I believe _that_ will get you really excited,” Jack said and put his finger on Nathan’s lips because the man had a devious grin on his face and it was making Jack want to give in to whatever 'math problem' he wanted to work on. “What will get  _ me _ excited is having you back to the man I married who would be a little upset, professionally, at the notion of fucking in the hallway in the super secure lab that has tons and tons of cameras for observation; observation of the Artifact, not your sexual art and facts.”

“You keep mentioning that.”

“You keep forgetting it.”

“OK, let’s go to the lab and make some pollen inhibitors.” Nathan said. “I’ll take the first dose so we can see if I really feel that way when I’m not ‘under the influence’.”

“Great!” Jack said and stepped back from him. Flirty Nathan was really irresistible, and horny Nathan was way way worse. He grabbed his hand and started walking down the hall with scientist in tow, bending over to pick up the tablet on the ground on the way. He got his ass grabbed when he bent over. “You’re not helping.”


End file.
